Dan Burn has played in the Champions League, won the Carabao Cup with his beloved Newcastle United and is now a fully fledged England international - but he has never won Darlington’s young player of the year award.
No, for all of his growing list of achievements, that is one that escaped the Magpies’ latest England international after he came out second best to Quakers team-mate Jamie Chandler at the end of the 2010/11 season. Back then, Burn’s career was still very much in its infancy after the former Blyth Spartans Juniors defender impressed sufficiently during a trial to be handed his first professional deal by the then-League Two club.
Relegation into the National League, the top level of the non-league game, offered Burn an opportunity to earn regular game-time and the Blyth-born youngster impressed as the formative steps of a career that has now taken him to the top level of the game took place with Darlo. A move to Fulham followed and Burn eventually made his way back to the North East with Newcastle in January 2022 via spells with the likes of Yeovil Town, Wigan Athletic and Brighton.
For former Sunderland youngster Chandler, he spent his career career shining in North East non-league football with Gateshead and Spennymoor - and he could not be happier to see his former Darlington team-mate hitting the highest heights.
He told Chronicle Live: “I’ll always have that young player award on Dan - but I think he has certainly outweighed my career even thought I will hang on to it and remind a few people of it now and then. Dan’s grounding, where he’s come from to where it’s developed, and the trajectory he’s been on in recent seasons, I think he will still always be the same hardworking character that has had to graft for everything he has got now.
“He’s living the dream, as a local lad, being a Geordie, playing for his club as a former season ticket holder, scoring at Wembley and now making an England debut, it really is the stuff of dreams. It all comes as a result of hard work, dedication and a lot of sacrifices as well. It’s not the straightforward trajectory, there have been bumps in the road and there have been lessons to be learnt - but he has earned every bit of success.”
Although Burn’s career has surpassed any early expectations by some distance, Chandler believes the standards asked of him in a demanding Quakers dressing room played a major role in guiding him throughout what was to follow.
He said: “When he broke through at Darlington, he was a big, giant of a 17-year-old and we were all asking who is this lad? The standards instilled in his by Craig Liddle in the youth team gave him that base, experience and knowledge to know what he needed to do to progress. I would imagine every club he has been at since has enjoyed the Dan Burn we all saw back then when he wore his heart on his sleeve, gave his all and was a real leader on and off the pitch.
“He didn’t necessarily lead with the vocal side of it but we had big players in the dressing room that had played in the Championship and League One and you had to be thick-skinned to meet the standards set by the manager and the other lads.”
If Chandler has been caught by surprise by Burn’s incredible journey, the same can be said of Tom Wade, who was part of a Blyth Spartans Juniors coaching team that oversaw a key stage in the defender’s development.
Although describing Burn as an out-and-out defender would not be strictly true as the current Magpies star joined Spartans Juniors from Blyth Town as a goalkeeper and, in Wade’s words, ‘a bit of a defender’.
As a young Burn made his way through his teenage years, Wade, who went on to manage Spartans to the FA Cup third round in 2014, described the young Northumbrian as ‘very dedicated and very attentive’ - but admitted a future career wearing the Three Lions and playing the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan never really came under consideration.
He said: “I would love to say yes and tell you we thought he would do what he has done - but it was one where you thought he was a good lad who had come to us as a goalkeeper and a bit of a defender from Blyth Town but you wouldn’t say he would go as far as he has.
“But Dan is just a good lad, very dedicated, very attentive and he listened in every coaching sessions. You wouldn’t think someone from that set of juniors would go that far, playing in the Premier League, Champions League and now for England, but we thought he’d do well at a senior level, whether that’s pro, Northern League, whatever. But the heights he is now? No, we didn’t see that coming.”
Along with his son Matthew, who also featured for Spartans during their cup run a decade ago, Wade was on hand to witness Burn writing his name into Magpies folklore when he scored the first goal in last weekend’s Carabao Cup Final win against Liverpool.
Matthew was also part of a group of Burn’s lifelong friends that made a quickfire return to Wembley to watch the centre-back earn his first England cap in Friday night’s 2-0 win against Albania. A second cap could follow when England host Latvia at Wembley on Monday night - and Wade Senior believes new Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel will benefit from the presence of a grounded Burn in the same way Magpies boss Eddie Howe has throughout his reign at St James Park.
“I have known Dan since he was four or five-years-old when he played in the street with my son Matthew and his other mates. They’re still friends and Dan is very much still the same lad as he always has been. He still comes into the street and sees his mates, they get together for games nights and watch the NFL. They’re the same group of friends since they were at school and I think that keeps him grounded.
“His England debut has capped a special week off perfectly and his character will add to the squad, just as Eddie Howe recognised when he brought Dan to Newcastle when they were battling relegation. He’s a lad from Blyth now playing for England and everyone at Newcastle, from Blyth and the North East should be very proud because he’s one of our own doing something very special.”
Yet that Darlington young player of the year award will always remain just out of reach.
Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon have been called up for England duty and the official England Store has cut up to 25% off the latest shirts and full kits ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.
Fans can save up to £25 on the current Home and Away shirts, including Womens and Kids editions. There's also discounts on shirts with 'Gordon 18' printing, with Burn and Livramento shirts expected to hit the shelves soon.
from £10
England Store
