Toon ace Burn loves the biggest stages

FROM Blyth to Brent with a few quirky stop-offs in between, it's safe to say that Dan Burn's road to the brink of the World Cup has been an unusual one.

- BY LEE RYDER

The likes of Ashington's famous brothers Bobby and Jack Charlton, seems well within grasp for Burn.

The 6ft 7in centre-back turned out for Blyth Spartans, Darlington, Wigan, Yeovil and Brighton, to name a few, before winning his first cap for England at the age of 33.

But the Newcastle defender finds himself in the mind of Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel on merit ahead of the finals and, as the proud owner of four caps, he could be rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest stars in the global game next summer.

The former Asda trolley collector's journey is richly deserved, but after scoring a historic and crucial header at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final last March that rocked Liverpool, the freeman of Northumberland is more than capable of replicating that on the big stage in North America.

The subject of playing at the World Cup, and emulating kind to him in 2025 after THAT goal against Liverpool on the way to cup glory before his England debut against Albania in March.

His header in the Carabao Cup showpiece even cropped up as a subject as Burn warmed up with Harry Kane (below) and Jordan Henderson last month.

"Every game at Wembley is special for me," said Burn.