Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has showered Dan Burn with praise following the centre-back’s debut for the club this weekend against Aston Villa.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the English coach was stunned by how composed the former Brighton defender was on his St. James Park debut for the Magpies, with Burn keeping a clean sheet for Newcastle against Steven Gerrard’s side.
The 29-year-old defender was a late signing for Newcastle as Burn became the centre-back of choice for the northeast side in the January window, with the Blyth-born player already impressing supporters.
Burn was a unit at the back for Newcastle and impressed massively in what was a dream debut for the centre-back, with the clean sheet lifting the Toon four points clear of the relegation zone.
Indeed, centre-back has been a problem area for Newcastle for some time, yet Howe was amazed by how quickly Burn has turned things around, with the defender having a day to remember at St. James Park.
Howe said: “He was excellent. Very calm, He added composure to the back-line. Aerially he was very good, he swept up a lot of dangerous situations in a calm and composed way. It’s so nice him being here. I know how much the club means to him so it was a great moment.”
Burn against Villa shows why Newcastle were smart to sign him
The former Brighton star might have been a left-field option to sign as the club’s main centre-back signing in January, yet against Villa, Burn showed exactly why Newcastle were right to sign the defender.
Burn was a man-mountain on his debut against Villa, and for Newcastle, these type of performances will be the difference between a relegation battle and fighting their way off the bottom of the Premier League table.
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