Two years ago on from last Saturday, Saudi Arabian consortium PIF officially completed their takeover of Newcastle United from former owner Mike Ashley.
The Magpies have been on a stunning journey on the pitch since that deal was ratified as the club's new owners have provided financial backing and ambition.
Eddie Howe was quickly brought in to replace Steve Bruce in the dugout and the former Bournemouth boss has already led the side to a League Cup final and a fourth-place Premier League finish, with the latter securing Champions League football for the 2023/24 campaign.
Alexander Isak
£60.6m
Sandro Tonali
£55.4m
Anthony Gordon
£39.5m
Harvey Barnes
£38m
Bruno Guimaraes
£36.4m
The English head coach, as shown by the table above, has been backed in the transfer market by PIF throughout his time at St. James' Park to date.
He has been able to bring in a number of big-money signings to bolster his squad but one of his best pieces of business has been one of the least flashy additions of his tenure – Dan Burn.
How much did Newcastle pay for Dan Burn?
The Magpies boss reportedly spent a fee of £13m to sign the towering central defender from Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.
Sky Sports claimed that Newcastle had two undisclosed bids rejected by the Seagulls before they were finally able to secure a deal for his services during the January transfer window at the start of 2022.
At the time of the move, FootballTransfers placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €6.4m (£5.5m) after his performances for Brighton over the previous two-and-a-half years.
He joined them from Wigan in 2019 and went on to play 85 matches in all competitions for the club, in which time the giant defender scored two goals.
Burn started 33 Premier League games during his first campaign with the Seagulls and showcased his aerial quality as he won 73% of his battles in the air throughout the season.
He followed that up with 40 top-flight appearances for the club over the subsequent 18 months, which then led to his transfer to Newcastle at the start of last year.
This meant that the Magpies were signing a player who had played 73 Premier League matches in under three years before his move to St. James' Park. Therefore, they were not taking a big gamble with a player from a foreign or lower league.
Burn was a reliable and ready performer who had already proven himself to be a capable defender at the top level, which made him a sensible addition by Howe and his staff.
Whilst big-money, flashy, signings can get supporters excited and get the media talking about the club's ambition, you need proven quality and players who can do a job week-in-week-out to supplement the star quality and that is exactly what Burn provided – a solid base from which his exciting teammates could build from.
How many appearances has Burn made for Newcastle?
Burn has made 70 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions to date, with his latest coming against West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday.
He came in for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign and played a big role in their success in avoiding relegation down to the Championship.
The 6 foot 7 colossus started 16 Premier League matches and averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.98, which was the fifth-highest score within the squad. This shows that he was able to hit the ground running at St. James' Park as the ex-Brighton star became one of Howe's most consistent performers as a left-back and centre-back when needed.
Former West Ham forward Frank McAvennie was blown away by Burn's performances during his first few months on Tyneside. He claimed that the £13m fee Newcastle paid for him was an absolute "steal" and said that the supporters love him for the "ridiculous impact" he made at the back for the Magpies.
The 31-year-old ace followed that up with 35 Premier League starts for Newcastle during the 2022/23 campaign as Howe's side finished fourth and secured Champions League football.
He won 70% of his aerial duels as the English titan consistently dominated opposition players in the air to prevent teams from causing too many problems from set-pieces and crossing situations.
How much is Dan Burn worth now?
At the time of writing (09/10/2023), FootballTransfers has his xTV at €15.7m (£13.6m) and this means that his value has soared by 145% from the €6.6m that he was valued at when Newcastle signed him from Brighton at the start of last year.
This shows that Howe struck gold with the signing of Burn as his market value has rocketed up over the last 18 months since his switch to Tyneside from the Seagulls.
The Magpies star, who was a season-ticket holder at the club in his younger days, has proven himself to be a dependable and reliable performer at left-back for the head coach.
And he is not showing any signs of letting up this season, despite the signing of Lewis Hall potentially providing him with competition for his place, as Burn has been an excellent player for the club over the last few months.
The 31-year-old ace has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.97 across eight Premier League starts for the Magpies this term and has won 63% of his aerial battles, along with 51% of his duels in total.
There was also a fantastic moment for Burn recently as he scored his first ever Champions League goal in the 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at St. James' Park earlier this month.
The towering English brute won all four of his aerial duels against the French champions and made four clearances and one block on a historic night for Howe's men, to go along with his headed goal, as per Sofascore.
Hopefully, Burn will continue to be a superb option for Howe and help Newcastle to progress further, in the Premier League and Champions League, this season.
It would be terrific to see a local lad win a major piece of silverware for the Magpies but it remains to be seen how likely that is with Manchester City's dominance of football at the moment.
