The Premier League has a multi-million pound obsession with youth and potential that sometimes takes the spotlight away from solid performers who are over 30.
Newcastle United’s Dan Burn is one of them, a local lad whose performances at centre-back of late have turned down the volume a bit on the defender debate at Tyneside.
Marc Guehi for £70m? A better bit of business might have been getting Burn tied down for another year to take his Newcastle career into 2026.
“I honestly feel like I’m still getting better,” he says, and at 32 he might well be right on that.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of improvement to make, I feel I’ve got a lot of games under my belt, that experience helps.
“I don’t feel as if I’m declining or anything, I still feel fit and healthy and I’m contributing a lot to the team.”
It emerged on Friday that the club have triggered an extension to his contract.
Burn revealed to i that had actually happened about 12 months ago – it was based on appearances – and his current focus is on making sure he does enough to secure further extensions.
Ending his career at St James’ Park is the ultimate goal.
“I triggered [the contract] about this time last year,” he said.
“It just wasn’t something that was spoken about and I don’t need it to be spoken about, I’m happy just cracking on. But it gives me a little bit of security.
“I’ve always said I want to be here as long as possible so to activate that side of it gives me more security but I want more, I always want to be here longer.”
Burn has actually started his coaching badges, thinking a bit about life after football.
He turns his hand to media work a bit and is open to the idea of management – “picking the brains” of bosses he has worked with.
But the focus is on continuing to turn out for Newcastle, his boyhood club and the one he would dearly love to lift silverware with.
“I’d love to finish my career here,” he admitted.
“I’ve moved back home now, my kids are back with their family, we get to see our family a lot and it was always the plan to finish my career here. “We’ve just got to wait and see on that, we’ve got a lot of very good players here and we’re going in that upward trajectory so you’ve got to keep trying to go for as long as you can.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well this season, I’m not a player who is just going to be happy being a good trainer and sitting on the bench. I want to play and I do believe I can be playing in this team.”
Burn’s performances have been good enough to switch the focus on Newcastle’s recruitment away from centre-back options to right wing, an area they sorely need reinforcements.
On Saturday current occupant Jacob Murphy delivered the sort of performance that infuriates: plenty of running but precious little cutting edge. It meant Newcastle looked lopsided, reliant on Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak for goals on a day when neither fired.
Level heads help when campaigns veer off track. Four Premier League games without a win leave Newcastle eighth and answering some uncomfortable questions.
They played well on Saturday – their best performance of the season – but Isak was strangely profligate and that is where their problems lie at the moment. Eight goals in eight games is not nearly enough and the Swede is not close to the devastating best that justifies Newcastle’s £100m price tag and Arsenal’s interest in him.
“I think you’re more worried if he isn’t getting those chances,” Burn said and he had a point. Saturday was the first time this season the supply line had actually worked.
“I think with a guy of Alex’s quality he will be disappointed he hasn’t taken even the half chances he’s had. But I never worry about Alex, I’m sure it won’t stop him.”
A revival of the striker’s form is important because Newcastle have a tough run of games, with two matches against Chelsea (away in the Premier League before a midweek home cup tie) coming up before Arsenal visit St James’ Park.
Burn, though, does not sense any panic in the camp.
“I think if you look at the way we started the season we probably haven’t played that well but picked up the points,” he said.
“Now we played very well on Saturday and didn’t [pick up the points]. You can’t have everything but I think that was a more ‘us’ performance and we have to build on that.
“It’s always hard with the international breaks at the start of the season, it’s hard to build momentum. You’re always stop-start, there’s lads who have been all over the world and then they’re coming back.
“Now is the time when it really kicks in, November, December, January when you’ve got all those games and that’s when you’ll really see where we are this season and how many wins we can string together.”
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