Fulham’s pursuit of non-league centre backs is starting to become a recurring theme. First it was Chris Smalling, now at Manchester United, who was scouted and then taken from non-league football with Maidstone United to Craven Cottage. Now, it is the turn of Blyth-born defender Dan Burn to step up to the Premier League as he moves from Blue Square Bet Premier side Darlington. A product of the Quakers academy, the 18-year-old has undergone something of a whirlwind rise in his career. Like Smalling before him, little is known of Burn; so just what have Fulham bought for a reported £350,000?
My travel companion for Darlington’s FA Trophy semi-final against Gateshead was injured Tynesiders winger James Marwood, who had already mentioned that the young defender was being scouted by Fulham and likely to move there. The first thing I noticed was how aerially dominant he was alongside former Ipswich defender Ian Miller. He is by no means one-dimensional, however, and he looked good on the ground and read the game well. A tidy player, he was one of the major reasons Darlington were able to restrict Gateshead to so few chances that day and managed to keep a clean sheet fairly comfortably.
A physically imposing defender at 6′ 6″, one would imagine the tough nature of the Premier League would not unsettle Burn; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. His formidable size and overall look has already bred comparisons to Norwegian international and future team-mate Brede Hangeland which aren’t wide of the mark. The former FC Copenhagen player will be 30 come the end of the season, but with a few years’ coaching and one-on-one work with Hangeland Burn may be seen as the natural successor to the player who cost Fulham just £4m.
He also comes with a ringing endorsement from former Fulham midfielder and current Darlington manager Mark Cooper. He recently told BBC Tees: “If I were a Premier League manager I would sign him straight away, whatever the cost.” It would seem word spread quickly, with a clutch of Premier League clubs including Newcastle United and Birmingham City sending scouts to watch the 18-year-old.
Because of Burn’s calmness under pressure and versatility, Cooper will no doubt be sad to lose Burn with his Darlington side looking to gain promotion back to the Football League. However, with average attendances of around 2,000 in a stadium that holds over ten times that number, Darlington are rife with financial problems. The deal reflects a step in the right direction for the club’s financial stability in the long term as well as chance to build on a solid debut season in the Conference National; a promotion push next season is not out of the question.
This is the second time Fulham and Darlington have negotiated the transfer of a promising youngster. With a recent England call up to his name, goalkeeper David Stockdale began at York City before joining Darlington after an impressive trial. In 2008 a host of Premier League clubs were linked with him but a bid of £350,000 rising to £600,000 was tabled by Fulham and subsequently accepted. Burn will no doubt look to learn from Stockdale’s experience as he makes a move many players have found difficult.
While Burn’s move south does not officially take effect until June, Fulham seems the ideal starting place for Burn to begin his league career, away from the spotlight with space to grow and develop.
However it’s not all been great news for the centre back lately; his first taste of Wembley was cruelly snatched from his grasp with the news he would miss the FA Trophy final with a knee injury. Darlington won it late thanks to a goal from Chris Senior but the real success story of the club’s season has to be defender Burn’s emergence and subsequent chance to test himself against the best.
This is a guest post by Kristan Heneage.
Tags: Chris Smalling, Dan Burn, Darlington, Fulham
Good piece, be interesting to see if he develops into a first team player while Hangeland is still there - those two would be some double act.