Newcastle United supporters feel Dan Burn should have joined his club teammates on England duty. Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope are the first Toon players to feature in the same Three Lions squad since Michael Owen and Alan Smith in 2007… but should the duo have been a trio?
Gareth Southgate snubbed Burn despite his flawless displays in a black-and-white shirt. The Magpies stumped up a modest £13million to re-sign the Blyth-born defender - who was released by Newcastle as a schoolboy - in January.
Burn’s arrival laid the foundations for a solid defensive unit at the back end of last season and he has carried that form into 2022-23. England are not blessed with the world-beating centre-backs from yesteryear, which begs the question… did Burn deserve a call-up?
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ChronicleLive compared the 30-year-old’s stats with Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Everton’s Conor Coady at the time Southgate named the England squad to analyse whether his omission was justified…
Since the start of 2022, Burn has conceded fewer goals per game than his counterparts. For Brighton and Newcastle, the 6ft 7in Geordie conceded 30 goals in 26 appearances (1.15 per game.)
This exceeds Maguire (1.89 pg) by some distance, and narrowly displaces Coady (1.32 pg). A poor run of form has seen the Red Devils man dropped in recent weeks but he still earned a place in Southgate’s setup.
While goals conceded can not always be attributed to the player - individual stats certainly can. ChronicleLive studied data from the beginning of last season when examining how the player himself performed.
Tackles-wise, Burn comes up trumps again. The Magpies’ stalwart made 50 in 35 games (1.43 pg), miles ahead of Maguire (1.1 pg) and Coady (0.74 pg). Legendary Italian defender Paulo Maldini claimed “if you need to make a tackle you have already made a mistake” so, with that in mind, let us scrutinise further…
Again, Maguire and Coady trail Burn on clearances by some distance. While the Newcastle man has averaged 4.8 per game, Maguire (3.21 pg) and Coady (3.76) are not in his league. England have often been under the cosh in the latter stages of tournaments - recent exits to Croatia and Italy being two examples - would Burn not be a safe bet to clear his lines?
Analysing duels won and aerial battles won paints a similar picture. It is no surprise that, given his enormous frame, Burn is a force to be reckoned with in the air.
His 4.8 duels won and 3.2 aerial duels won per game puts him clear of Maguire (4.21pg and 2.42 pg). Alarmingly, Coady - a former midfielder - has distinctly average results in this area.
The former Wolves man has not averaged one aerial duel won per game (0.86) since the start of last season. Combine this with his duels won stats (1.77pg) and you think: is he really a better option than Burn?
However, one area where the Geordie falls short is passing. Burn is far from inept with the ball at his feet - he played for Brighton after all - but his no-nonsense style is less suited to playing out from the back than his rivals.
The Toon defender averaged 38.57 passes per game, some distance behind Maguire (51.1pg) and Coady (38.57pg). Neglecting Burn from the international stage based on passing stats alone appears counter-productive considering how dominant he has been defensive-wise.
Burn v Maguire v Coady
* Conceded stats are based on 2022 alone, whereas others are taken from start of last season
* Stats correct at time England squad was announced
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