Paul Merson has labelled Dan Burn’s arrival at Newcastle United as a “masterstroke” and believes his signing was more important than Bruno Guimaraes’. The Blyth-born defender returned to his boyhood club nearly two decades after being released by the Magpies as an 11-year-old.
His deadline-day arrival ended the centre-back saga that plagued the January transfer window, with moves for more glamorous names like Sven Botman and Diego Carlos falling through. Newcastle - still one point from safety at the time - stumped up £13million to sign their former academy product and it did not take long for the 30-year-old to repay his transfer fee.
Alongside Fabian Schar, Burn forged a formidable defensive partnership as United, winning 10 of his 16 games in black-and-white colours to steer the club comfortably clear of the relegation zone. Former Arsenal winger Merson has listed the 6ft 7in Geordie as one of the Premier League’s most underrated players and thinks he has been “outstanding” since returning to Tyneside.
