At the beginning of the window, the priority for Newcastle United was to strengthen their options at centre back. It has been a protracted journey to bring one to St James’ Park, but we finally managed to get a deal done. Although Dan Burn wouldn’t have been anybody’s first choice, it is a shrewd short term move from the club.
The 29-year-old has plenty of Premier League experience and he has been thriving for Brighton and Hove Albion in recent weeks. We have one of the worst defences in the league, but the Seagulls have had one of the best under Graham Potter. It is smart to sign a player performing in one of the better defensive teams.
Burn may not be the best defender in the Brighton team. However, he has been a well-liked member of the squad and he has always performed well when given the opportunity. He was formerly a member of our youth academy and he is a boyhood Newcastle supporter. This is an opportunity he couldn’t turn down and there will be added drive to perform that others may not have.
Style of play
Dan Burn is a left-footed centre back. They are a rare breed at the top level, which immediately adds to his price tag. A fee of £13 million may seem high, but he has plenty of top flight experience and a rare profile. His frame of 6’6” means that he has an intimidating physical presence and is good in the air.
The above graphic shows his profile on fbref over the last 12 months. The sea of green suggests he is going to be an excellent addition and he scores highly when compared to other centre backs. Burn is an aggressive defender, who looks to press and win the ball back.
He averages 2.2 tackles, 2.41 interceptions and 12.98 pressures per ninety minutes. This puts him in the 85th, 86th and 91st percentiles for each respective stat when compared to other centre backs. Our defence lacks confidence and they can often drop deep, inviting pressure in the process. It will be beneficial to have an aggressive defender like Burn in the team.
For a player with his height, it isn’t surprising that Burn rates very highly for aerial duels. He averages 4.27 successful duels, putting him in the 95th percentile. From our current squad, only Lascelles is reliable in the air, winning 73.5% of his aerial duels.
In comparison, Burn has only won 67.2% of his aerial duels this season. Even if an attacker wins an aerial duel against Burn, his size makes it difficult for them to win the ball and get it under control.
Despite Lascelles’ high win percentage, there are lapses of concentration, such as a lost duel to allow Joao Pedro to score the equaliser when we played Watford. It is unlikely that Burn would have made the same error.
The above graphics show Burn’s 2021/22 radar compared against both Lascelles and Fabian Schar. They are the two starters at the moment, but it is likely that Burn will displace one of them.
The key takeaway is that Burn is a more front-foot defender, who tries to win the ball back more frequently. Lascelles and Schar are both passive, who look to drop deep. It has been ingrained in them from Rafa Benitez and then Steve Bruce. Howe has found it difficult to break these habits. The addition of Burn should help.
Burn averages 2.5 tackles and 3.9 interceptions per ninety minutes, when possession has been adjusted. Meanwhile, Lascelles (0.4 tackles and 0.9 interceptions) and Schar (0.59 tackles and 1.68 interceptions average far less. This underlines the value that Burn will bring to the defence, especially as Howe will want his team to be more aggressive without the ball.
This season, Burn has ranked in the 92nd percentile for tackles and the 96th percentile for interceptions. His role as a wide centre back has helped increase his numbers, but this does show that he is a proficient ball winner.
The above graphic shows Burn’s heat map from the current season. He has been used as a wide centre-back in a back three, which can be seen by his common positions that are wider than a traditional centre back.
His experience playing as a wing-back has helped him build confidence when bringing the ball forward. There is an option for Howe to give him a licence to come out of defence and attack down the left wing. He did this frequently at Brighton and he is comfortable when in these wide positions.
Passing
One of the key attributes that Burn has is his confidence with the ball at his feet. Howe is trying to move to a build-up play focused on building attacks on the floor and outside of Fabian Schar, our current defensive options are uncomfortable with this.
Burn may not be the best centre back when passing the ball, but he is certainly comfortable playing in a team that builds from deep. The above graphic shows his passing stats from the current season.
His average of 3.7 passes into the final third and 3.17 progressive passes per ninety minutes shows his ability to move the ball forwards quickly. This has been a common trait in all of the new signings made so far, suggesting that they are signing players to fit Howe’s system.
A 69% pass completion for long passes underlines his ability to find players in the final third more often than not. He will be expected to play balls into Chris Wood when it isn’t possible to play out from the back. Burn has the skill to do this.
Aerial Ability
There is an obvious positive of signing a defender with Burn’s 6’6” frame and that is the dominance he can have in both boxes. This was evident in Brighton’s recent match against Leicester City.
The above screenshot shows Burn winning an aerial duel from one of Leicester’s corners. His presence is obvious in the graphic, as he is clearly the dominant player in that situation. That is the position we should instruct him to take up at our defensive set pieces, as it is the danger zone inside the six yard box.
His signing should hugely improve our structure at set-piece situations, as this has been a weakness in recent seasons.
In addition to his obvious strengths in his own box, he is capable of causing a threat at the other end.
The above graphic shows Burn winning a header from a corner and his shot is eventually cleared off the line. It was an excellent attempt and one that came close to winning the game for Brighton.
His ability in the air will help us carry a bigger threat, but his presence in the box is also likely to create space for others. There is no doubt that Burn will improve our set-piece ability at both ends of the pitch.
One on one defending
Given his size, it would be expected that Burn could be vulnerable to quick and tricky attacking players. However, he is deceptively quick across the ground and comfortable when defending in wide areas. His role as a wide centre back and wing-back has helped him build confidence in these areas.
The Brentford attacker in the above screenshot is in a great position to get the ball across into the area. With two team-mates approaching the area and just one Brighton defender goal-side, it is key that Burn manages to stop the cross.
Burn manages to get the tackle in. Not only does he win the ball, but the ball remains in play and he manages to bring it away for Brighton. This prevents a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity and provides the chance for his team to counter. It is an excellent piece of defending.
The above screenshot shows Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a dangerous position with a view of goal. There is the chance for him to shift right and get the shot away, or to play a through ball into his teammate at the top of the graphic.
Burn is close to him, but he isn’t the favourite to win the ball, as he is on the wrong side.
Burn manages to get back and get a foot on the ball to stop Aubameyang’s forward run. It is another example of his tackling ability. Although Arsenal keep the ball, the attack is halted and Brighton then have players back to defend the situation.
Where will Burn fit in at Newcastle?
It was key that we signed a centre back this month. Ideally, we would have signed more, but Burn does represent an upgrade in that area of the pitch. In the short term, it should be enough to see an improvement to help us climb the table.
Burn is a centre back that prefers to play on the left side. This will be the position that he plays in at St James’ Park. This should reduce the opportunities given to Ciaran Clark. Until this point, he was the only natural left-sided centre back.
There is versatility in Burn’s games and that gives options to Eddie Howe. He can play in a back three or as a wing-back. This should be a smart addition to the squad.
