Blyth-born Newcastle United star Dan Burn lands shock England call-up in pre-Carabao Cup Final boost

Blyth-born Newcastle United defender Dan Burn was a surprise inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager will take charge of the Three Lions for the first time when they kick off their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign with home fixtures against Albania and Latvia later this month. Burn was not the only new face to be named in the squad after Tuchel handed a maiden senior call-up to Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly after he impressed during his first full season in the Gunners senior setup.

There were also recalls for Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford and Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah will hope to make their first senior appearances after failing to get any game-time when they have previously been named in an England squad.

But it is Burn’s call-up that will have surprised many as the Blyth-born centre-back’s journey from playing grassroots football with Blyth Spartans Juniors to the highest levels of the game reaches a surprising new peak. Burn started his professional career with Darlington and gradually made his way up the football pyramid with moves to the likes of Fulham, Birmingham City, Yeovil and Brighton and Hove Albion before returning to the North East with Newcastle in January 2022.

The big defender helped the Magpies avoid relegation from the Premier League during his first six months with his boyhood club and was part of the United side that reached the Carabao Cup Final and qualified for the Champions League during his first full season. Burn will now hope to kick off the biggest fortnight in his career by helping the Magpies land their first domestic silverware since 1955 when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday before linking up with the Three Lions squad just hours later.

There was great pride for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who described the man set to become the Magpies’ latest England international as ‘dedicated, professional, a leader, a real man and inspirational figure’.

“Incredible moment for Dan, there’s no one more deserving in my opinion.” Howe said in his pre-Carabao Cup Final press conference. ““We started to work with Dan when we did in our relegation battle, such an inspiring guy. A very talented player and a great story, one of the great footballing stories really. A great comeback, someone who had to do it the real hard way coming through the leagues. He’s dedicated, professional, a leader, a real man and inspirational figure.

“99% of it because he’s the model pro really. He’s so committed to what he does - he’s had to be. He’s been given great strengths, his size and his height, they are brilliant weapons to have on a football pitch, particularly as a centre-half, but then you’ve got to improve all the other areas of your game to see that as a big strength. He’s done that for me. His character is so stable and so level that he takes every challenge and every potential negative in his strike and comes back stronger. I’m so pleased for him on a personal level because he’s thoroughly deserved it.”

Burn was not the only Magpies star named in Tuchel’s squad after the German boss called up Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon for the double header.