Burn was handed a maiden international call-up by Thomas Tuchel this morning, with the defender featuring in the squad that will face Albania and Latvia in England’s first two World Cup qualifiers later this month.
The promotion to the international fold is a marked transformation from the early dys of Burn’s career, when he was combining a part-time job at Asda with playing part-time for Blyth Spartans prior to being taken on as a youth-player with Darlington.
He made his Football League debut for [Quakers](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/darlington) in a 5-0 defeat to Torquay United in December 2009, and made 19 senior appearances in a Darlington shirt prior to leaving for Fulham.
He joined [Newcastle](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastleunited/) in a £13m move from Brighton in January 2022, and will be in the Magpies’ starting side for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley prior to linking up with the England squad.
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“It’s an incredible moment for Dan,” said Howe. “And I have to say, there’s no one more deserving in my opinion. Starting to work with Dan when we did, with him coming in during our relegation battle, he’s such an inspiring guy, but also a very talented player.
“I think it’s a great story really, one of the great football stories, one of the great comebacks. He’s someone who’s had to do it the real hard way, coming through the leagues. He’s a dedicated professional, a leader, a real man, someone who’s an inspirational figure.”
While Burn might lack some of the natural talent of some of the other defenders who have been called up alongside him in the England squad, he has devoted his career to extracting the absolute maximum from the tools available to him.
He is one of the key leaders within the Newcastle squad, and has proved invaluable during Howe’s reign thanks to his ability to play at both centre-half and left-back.
“He is the model pro really,” added the Magpies boss. “He’s so committed to what he does, and I think he’s had to be. He’s been given great strengths – his size and his height, they’re great weapons to have on a football pitch, especially as a centre-half. But then you’ve got to improve all the other areas of your game to see that as a big strength.
“He’s done that. His character is so stable and so level that he takes every challenge and every potential negative in his stride and comes back stronger. I’m so pleased for him on a personal level because he so deserves it.”