Dan Burn has suddenly entered the England World Cup conversation following the recent injury to Chelsea's Ben Chilwell. Gareth Southgate's first-choice left-back suffered a torn hamstring in the Blues' Champions League win on Wednesday, almost certainly ruling him out of the Qatar showpiece this month.
England are light on full-backs as it is, with Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kyle Walker-Peters all potentially missing out as well. That means Southgate's usual trick of playing Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier at left-back may not be an option either.
Instead, the England boss may have to choose a more natural left-sided full-back from the likes of Burn, Justin James of Leicester, Brentford's Rico Henry and Ryan Sessegnon at Tottenham. Burn, however, has the added advantage of impressing for Newcastle in front of Southgate just one week ago at St James' Park.
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The Newcastle centre-back, who has been deployed at left-back over recent games, put in another solid display as the Magpies pushed Aston Villa to one side with a 4-0 win, with Southgate in the stands casting an eye over proceedings. Eddie Howe has now offered his verdict and championed his player to make the 26-man squad next week.
"I'm going to promote all of my players at international level to say, 'Yes I do' but I don't want that to be seen as a plea to Gareth, because Gareth will do his work," Howe told reporters on Friday. "He'll know Dan inside and out and he'll know his capabilities.
"So just looking at Dan individually as I do, he can play in various positions, he's an incredible person and he's been a model of consistency for me and he's got great leadership skills. I couldn't place a higher value on him and what he's delivered for me and I think he can do that on the international stage, but obviously that's Gareth's call.
"Dan's one of those players who can sometimes go under the radar and not be acknowledged, but he has been so good in certain positions for us."
Southgate is expected to name his England side on Monday, with Trippier and Nick Pope almost nailed on to earn a spot on the plane. In-form striker Callum Wilson is another who has hopes of call-up in the coming days.
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