Newcastle United have plenty of units in their squad, with Eddie Howe building a big, physical side over the past few years.
Dan Burn stands at 6ft 7′, Nick Pope is 6ft 6′, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak are 6ft 4′ and Will Osula and Lewis Miley aren’t far behind, with Fabian Schar, Joelinton also coming in at 6ft 2′.
One of these has shifted positions this season and gained almost a stone in the process; and it’s certainly paid off following an outstanding 2024/25 season.
That man is Dan Burn, who has made some interesting comments about his switch from left-back to centre-back this season in a recent interview with Sky Sports.
Dan Burn has revealed that he gained 5kg in the build up to the 2024/25 season, believing added weight has allowed him to be “as dominant as possible” following a switch from left-back to centre-back.
Since arriving from Brighton in January 2022, the vast majority of Burn’s appearances came at left-back. Prior to this season, he appeared 70 times at left-back and 14 times at centre-back over the previous two campaigns.
However, this season all 45 of his outings have come at centre-back, seeing him fill in for the previously absent Sven Botman and form a solid partnership with Fabian Schar after we tried and failed to sign Marc Guehi last August.
Burn revealed on England duty in March that he weighs [104kg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fDPK9pD98Y&ab_channel=England) (16 stone, 3lbs) and told Sky that he now eats 5,000 calories a day to maintain his size, insisting he’d no longer be suited to playing at full-back at his new weight:
“This season, because I’ve changed left-back to centre-back, I’ve made a real effort to try and put weight on,” Burn said.
“I’ve probably put five kilos of weight on just because I felt as if for the position I play, I want to be as dominant as possible, which feels like a strength of mine now. I couldn’t carry this weight if I was playing full-back!”
After returning to his boyhood club, keeping us up and then scoring in the Champions League after a top four finish, Burn’s fairytale story has gone to the next level this season.
The opening goal at Wembley in our Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool was a magical moment, then was followed by an England call-up and first Three Lions cap under Thomas Tuchel.
Hopefully the big man can cap off a memorable campaign with a big win this weekend, as three points against Everton will seal a return to the Champions League.