Newcastle United fans don’t need reminding of the characters they have in their side but it’s still nice to hear it every now and then.
Brighton star Adam Lallana has been speaking very highly of his former Seagulls teammate and now Newcastle player, Dan Burn.
Newcastle picked up Burn from Brighton in Eddie Howe‘s first transfer window as gaffer for £13million.
Newcastle paid £13m to take Burn from Brighton
It was a signing that didn’t set heartrates racing on Tyneside but ended up being a superb piece of business. The 6’7″ defender quickly established himself in the side in that left centre-back role, helping guide Newcastle from the foot of the table to an 11th place finish.
In his first full season under Howe, Burn was switched to left-back to cover for the injured Matt Targett where he did so well that’s now become his position in the side.
Burn hasn’t just become a top player, he’s also part of the Leadership Group at the club which also consists of Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie. Beyond that, he’s almost become a face of the club, always keen to do media duties and coming across as very likeable and funny when he does.
Adam Lallana says Dan Burn an ‘unbelievable human’
It’s that kind of personality which is massive for a team as Adam Lallana told The Telegraph: “We have lost big characters. Dan Burn is an unbelievable human. But it’s those types of people that you want in the trenches with you. When you have 10, 11, 12 in the group and eight in the starting XI there is no other way for other people to act.
“You become a good person as well as a good player – of course you are a good player because you are in the Premier League – or you get moved on.”
Lallana is clearly feeling there’s been a hole left in the Brighton dressing room, but it’s now Newcastle who are reaping the rewards of having a character like Burn around the club.