Dan Burn has revealed that he personally spoke to both Eddie Howe and assistant Graeme Jones to make his dream move to Newcastle United happen.
It was no secret that Newcastle's priority back in January was to bring in a centre-back, but the Magpies failed with moves for Diego Carlos, who was at Sevilla at the time, and Sven Botman, who ended up joining the club a few months later from Lille. However, Newcastle ended up finding an inspired alternative in Burn.
Burn had always hoped he would get the opportunity to represent his boyhood club again after being released by Newcastle aged 11, but the Geordie thought it would never happen after the takeover was completed. Newcastle, though, had other ideas and reached out to Burn's agent while the defender was on a mid-season break with his family in Dubai.
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It ended up being the 'most stressful week ever' for Burn, who was glued to his phone, ahead of completing a £12.5m switch from Brighton on transfer deadline day.
"You know they've got options," Burn told 5 Live's The Monday Night Club. "I knew they were speaking to three or four players at the time. Every time now it comes to a transfer window, there's going to be that many players linked to Newcastle purely because of the situation they're in so you do have to convince people.
"I spoke to Bonner, Graeme Jones, and said how I felt about it and then I spoke to Eddie as well. I do think it got to the stage where I'm 30 years old now. I feel as if I don't need to rely on other people to get things done. I knew I could give a good account of myself and it's something I really wanted to happen."
Burn went on to play a crucial role in Newcastle staying up - Howe's side lost just five games and conceded 18 goals following his debut - and the defender remains a key figure at the club today. In fact, Burn has started five of Newcastle's opening six league games this season despite Sven Botman and Matt Targett both arriving on permanent deals.
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