St James' Park fan favourite Dan Burn and Kai Havertz – formerly on the books at Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen but now of Arsenal – have endured their fair share of battles over the years, with tempers often flaring when the two players lock horns in the Premier League. The former, though, recently shared that the latter is 'actually sound' after sharing a pre-season natter.
A relatively calm and likeable figure on the face of it, Burn – stood as one of the tallest players in Premier League history at 201cm – the former Brighton & Hove Albion defender and Havertz had formed an unlikely on-the-pitch feud. In fact, Burn required stitches after being on the receiving end of Havertz's elbow back in the day.
The aforementioned incident, which saw Havertz walk away unscathed, was Burn's maiden season in the northeast of England with the Magpies – and, to make matters worse, the versatile German managed to get infront of him to bag the winner on that occasion. Returning the favour, they tangled again as Burn and company beat the Blues at St James' Park later that season.
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Dan Burn Reveals Long-Term Feud With Kai Havertz Has Come to An End
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Burn, 33, and Havertz, 26, specifically have come to blows on a number of occasions since they first met on 20 April 2021. That, of course, means their feud first came to the fore while Havertz was plying his trade at Chelsea and Burn was on the books of Brighton. To various levels of bitterness, the two have played one another nine times since then.
Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, the behemoth of a defender revealed that the two let bygones be bygones, burying the hatchet over a drink during their respective pre-season campaigns. “He's actually, frustratingly enough, quite a nice guy. I had a drink with him and he's actually sound.
“I saw him in pre-season when we played in Singapore. We had time where we could go and have a few drinks, and we saw some of the Arsenal lads. I just got chatting to him. We both said to each other, 'That's just the way it is when we play,' we've just got to be at that sort of level.”
In August, in the months following their behind-the-scenes chat, Burn risked rubbing Arsenal fans up the wrong way in a social media video on Newcastle's official channels as he and skipper Bruno Guimaraes were tasked with guessing each of the last 20 winners of the Champions League.
Referencing Chelsea's triumph over Manchester City in 2021, when Havertz scored the only goal of the game, Burn said: "Kai Havertz, my guy." At this point, few were aware that Burn and Havertz had privately restored the peace as Burn stirred the pot by shooting a look to someone off camera. Audible laughter in the background suggested the feud wasn't settled. But it was.
A Closer Look at Burn and Havertz's Ten Meetings
Newcastle are by no means a bad team – but the fact that Burn has won 50% (five) of his meetings with Havertz, who has played for Chelsea and Arsenal, is mightily impressive. Their first two, when Burn was playing for Brighton and Havertz for Chelsea, ended in draws with the west Londoners then beating Burn's Newcastle 1-0 in the 2021/22 campaign. Havertz scored.
All five of Burn's victories against Havertz have come in the 2022/23 campaign onwards. Mikel Arteta's men did beat Newcastle 4-1 in the 2023/24 season, and they also won against Eddie Howe and company in the concluding stages of last term.
Dan Burn's Head-to-Head Record with Kai Havertz
Matches
Minutes
Teams
Wins
Draws
Losses
Points per Match
Incredibly, in Newcastle's pursuit of ending their 70-year major trophy drought by winning the League Cup in 2024/25, Havertz-led Arsenal stood in their way. The St James' Park outfit swept them aside in their two-legged meeting, beating the north Londoners 2-0 on both occasions. As things stand, Burn can stand with his chest puffed out. Havertz cannot.
All statistics per Transfermatkt – correct as of 03/12/2025