What a signing Dan Burn has been for Newcastle United.
A £13m addition from Brighton in January 2022, Burn played a major role in keeping the club in the Premier League during his first few months.
Last season, the 31-year-old took his game up another level.
The defender started all but three of Newcastle’s Premier League games last season, a campaign in which they established himself as the meanest backline in the division.
Burn, of course, is a boyhood supporter of the club and watching him operate on the highest stage is fairy-tale stuff.
Now, some more pleasing insight has emerged.
Dan Burn played through the pain barrier for Newcastle last season
According to The Athletic, Burn was playing through the pain barrier last season.
Indeed, they claim the defender’s shoulder repeatedly dislocated after Christmas.
What’s more impressive is that Burn didn’t actually miss any games during that period. Only twice did he start on the bench but came onto the field of play on both occasions.
What a warrior.
Burn’s spirit underlines just how together Newcastle are
It’s not easy to measure team spirt and unity.
Still, that kind of commitment shows just how much these players want to play for Newcastle.
Bruno Guimaraes is another who played through the pain barrier after an ankle injury, while Nick Pope was putting in excellent display after excellent display while dealing with a lingering hand issue.
It does, however, show just how desperately Eddie Howe’s side need reinforcement.
To ask those players to do so again seems unwise and Newcastle can ill-afford to lose three such key players next season, particularly with more games in the schedule.
Going forward, the club cannot rely on key squad members being able to just get through injuries.
That would be far too much of a risk.
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