Leeds need a centre-back and Dan Burn ticks all the boxes.
Paul Heckingbottom must dust himself down after failing to push Leeds towards a Championship play-off spot and begin planning for the 2018-19 campaign by drawing up a number of summer targets, and centre-back will be his first port of call.
The Whites have struggled to create a centre-back pairing that is feared by Championship attackers this season, with captain Liam Cooper well below par and on-loan Everton defender Matthew Pennington struggling to live up to the billing.
A new centre-back is a must if the Whites are to even think about challenging for the top six next season, and high on Heckingbottom’s shortlist should be Wigan Athletic man mountain Dan Burn.
The 25-year-old defender has been impeccable this season, missing just one league match. His enormous 6ft 6in frame has struck fear into Wigan’s league rivals, as the Latics continue to sit in the automatic promotion places.
His form has been so good that he was named in the EFL League One Team of the Season, alongside Wigan teammates Nathan Byrne, Sam Morsy and Nick Powell.
But with only a year left to run on his contract at the DW Stadium, Burn could be available this summer unless Wigan look to tie up a contract for the former Fulham and Birmingham City defender.
Adding him into the pecking order at Elland Road would give Leeds’ defence a tenacity about them, as well as an aerial prowess that would be unrivalled by other second-tier sides.
Burn has 118 Championship appearances under his belt already and is more than capable of finding the back of the net at the opposite end, scoring four goals this season.
All in all, Burn should be high on the Leeds shortlist when Heckingbottom or indeed director of football Victor Orta delve into the transfer market to solve their centre-back woes this summer.
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