Newcastle United defender Dan Burn has ended his summer holiday early to join Matthias Jaissle's Toon revolution. The Blyth-born defender has been away from the group the longest after helping England to third place at the World Cup in the US.
Early return to training
Burn made three appearances for Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions in America and had been on international duty since early June, only finishing work on July 19 and remaining in North America for a vacation with his family. However, while Newcastle have been in La Manga, Burn has checked back into the KNOX and has been working behind the scenes on pre-season preparation, before joining the group again next week when they return from Spain.
Whether the clash against Everton at Murrayfield on Wednesday comes too early for the defender remains to be seen but he will certainly be in contention to play against Strasbourg or Bayer Leverkusen in the Visit Malta Weekender at St James' Park the following weekend.
Key player under Jaissle
Eddie Howe was one of Burn's biggest fans, having brought the Geordie into St James' Park from Brighton as one of his first signings in 2021. However, Burn is not facing an uncertain future despite Howe's departure, with Jaissle seeing Burn as a key player and respecting the 34-year-old's achievements after battling his way from the lower leagues to the greatest show on earth at the World Cup.
As reported by Chronicle Live after the World Cup semi-finals in Atlanta against Argentina, Burn has a two-year extension clause in his contract which the club are keen to activate.
Defensive competition and captaincy
Newcastle will start the season with Sven Botman, Malick Thiaw, Burn and Fabian Schar battling for places in the heart of defence. Jaissle also knows Schar from his playing days at Hoffenheim and will lean into the Swiss star's experience and knowledge going into the new season.
Both Burn and Schar will be in the frame to be named Newcastle's new captain after the departure this summer of not only Bruno Guimaraes, but also Kieran Trippier. Jacob Murphy has skippered United in pre-season so far.
