The next international break is almost upon us and tomorrow. Gareth Southgate will name his latest England squad – and Newcastle United star Dan Burn deserves to be included.
The Three Lions are facing Switzerland and the Ivory Coast at the end of the month.
The two friendly matches are a chance for Southgate to assess his squad and perhaps try some new things ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
So many English players are playing well right now.
The squad will undoubtedly be controversial – but surely Burn has got to get a call-up.
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The ace has been imperious since arriving at St. James’ Park from Brighton in a £13 million transfer (BBC Sport).
Burn has completely relished the challenge of playing for a team trying to pull away from a relegation dogfight.
Across his six appearances for the Magpies so far, he has been a part of two clean sheets, and only seen Martin Dubravka concede three times.
Prior to 2022, Newcastle were leaking goals left, right and centre.
The defence was like a sieve, and the team were always up against it in games.
But Burn has brought authority, physicality and leadership to the backline. And also an attacking threat from set pieces as evidenced by his header across for Bruno Guimaraes’ stunning goal against Southampton.
And not only that, but his high level has seemingly been a source of inspiration for those around him.
Dubravka feels more assured between the sticks. Fabian Schar looks like his old self again. Jonjo Shelvey is oozing confidence.
The impact he has had his undeniable.
And he was actually playing really well for Brighton before his transfer. Hopefully Southgate has been watching. It’s not like he could be accused of making a reactionary decision.
Dan Burn deserves England chance, but competition is fierce
Hopefully Southgate does call Burn up into his latest England squad tomorrow. He genuinely deserves it.
Newcastle were in such a bad way before his arrival. And now, the club are nine points clear of the relegation zone.
His influence has been seismic, and his contributions will likely keep Newcastle in the Premier League.
But the competition is very fierce.
Tyrone Mings has tended to be the only left-footed centre-half in the England squad in recent times.
His form has picked up again recently so that might ultimately count against Burn.
But there can be no arguments that Burn is playing better than Harry Maguire for example. But so are several others, such as Ben White, Max Kilman, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi.
Hopefully Southgate can appreciate just how good Burn as been though and call him up for the first time.