Newcastle told they badly missed 31-year-old player during Bournemouth defeat

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Pundit Stephen Warnock has claimed that Newcastle United missed the experience of the injured Dan Burn in their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth over the weekend.

Newcastle were without several key players and looked a shadow of themselves as they were outplayed by a relegation-threatened Bournemouth team.

Stephen Warnock has claimed on The Two Robbies Podcast that Burn is one of the unsung heroes of the team who Eddie Howe really missed on Saturday.

Newcastle missed Burn’s experience

The 31-year-old has been an integral part of the team since he signed from Brighton in January 2022 and had never actually missed a game through injury for Newcastle until this weekend.

There were suggestions that Burn was holding the Magpies back and that they needed to improve in the summer window, but it’s not as simple as that.

The defender is obviously a great character to have in the dressing room, a leader to the squad and a boyhood fan who will give everything for Eddie Howe, it’s difficult to replace that type of player so quickly.

Warnock claimed that Newcastle missed Burn’s calmness and experience in the defence against Bournemouth with both Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento filling in at left-back.

“I think one of the players you didn’t mention, he’s one of those unsung players is Dan Burn.

“He can play across the backline, very comfortable, big stature from set-pieces both attacking and defending.

“But also what they lose when Livramento or Hall come in, great experience, know-how, not overplaying and trying to impress the manager by doing too much.”

Hall has to step up

With Burn set to be out until the new year at least, Lewis Hall is going to have to be thrown in the deep end as the only available left-back at the club.

In the past, Howe has slowly introduced new signings to the first-team at his own pace and it has usually been very effective. However, given the current state of injuries, he will not have that luxury.

Hall was given a tough ask against Borussia Dortmund, especially after such an early yellow card but he will have to quickly adapt as he is set for a long run in the team as the Christmas period approaches.

As Warnock mentioned, Burn is a big presence at Newcastle and a reliable player, so it’s going to be tough for the 19-year-old to emulate that in just a few weeks.