The 6ft 7in Toon star had a night many could only dream of but wants more in an England shirt - and you wouldn't put it past him

Dan Burn admits he has gone from devastation to delight in the space of days after shrugging off his England snub with a battling performance at Wembley.

The Newcastle United star was in the company of greatness last night as Harry Kane turned up at the venue of legends with the Ballon d'Or; Peter Shilton was on hand to do the honours for the England skipper's 126th record-breaking cap, and even Prince William popped in to meet the players. None of it was lost on Burn, who has gone from Blyth Spartans to the biggest stage of all in a career that has covered the lower leagues to the Champions League.

After collecting his 12th cap at Wembley, he ended the night shaking hands with global icon Luka Modric, no less.

At times the one-time Darlington man, who pushed trollies to earn a few quid at Asda, must wonder if he is in a mad dream. But the reality is, this is all in keeping for the Blyth lad who has scored in Newcastle's first domestic trophy win in 70 years against Liverpool, has been handed the club captaincy, fired the starting gun on the Great North Run and been handed the freedom of Northumberland just for good measure.

As England got ready to face their World Cup adversaries at Wembley last night, Burn walked out on the pitch alone to gaze around the empty stadium. At 34, he told me in the tunnel at the famous venue that he wants to savour every single scrap of it, and who can blame him?

Burn told Chronicle Live exclusively: "Originally I didn't get called up - but I knew I would be on standby if there were any injuries.

"I told the manager if he ever needed me due to injuries, to give me a call. I didn't expect him to be ringing back the next day!

"I then got the call on Sunday to come down; I was buzzing because I always said I wanted to be part of this for as long as possible.

"I am very grateful for this opportunity. I'm now going to try to make sure I don't get that call ever again!"

Getting to the World Cup last year was another dream fulfilled for the lad who once sat in the East Stand watching Alan Shearer, Gary Speed and Nobby Solano. Now he inspires thousands of others in an underdog story that rivals the Rocky series!

When asked about his personal moment gazing up at the national stadium, Burn admitted he was happy to take it all in, knowing it could be snatched away from him as quickly as it was last week when he missed out on his first squad for 18 months - but only temporarily.

Burn said: "Look, I'm 34 now and I'm not getting any younger; when you get to this stage, you never know when it's going to be your last camp.

"So I am just very happy to be here. Especially on a night like last night when Harry broke the record for appearances.

"We got to see the Ballon d'Or - and I know that is the closest I will get to seeing one!

"I'm just delighted to be part of it. Look, I know it wasn't a vintage performance, but we knew it was going to be like that.

"We knew they'd respond to losing 7-0. Remember, they are a very good team; I am just glad we have won and set up that final scenario with Spain on Sunday."

And the other great thing for Burn was that he was able to do it with some of his best mates. When Newcastle's takeover was pushed through in 2021, Burn was one of the first signings from Brighton & Hove Albion for just £13million.

The likes of Anthony Gordon followed for £40m, then Lewis Hall at £28m, while Elliot Anderson was the youngster seeing the art of what was possible. Well, last night they all got to experience the joy of playing for England together beneath the Wembley floodlights, albeit with the Whitley Bay lad now at Man City and Gordon now wooing fans in Barcelona's colours!

The Blyth battler said: "It was a real throwback to be honest! What helped me was that I didn't have a lot of time to think about it.

"And having that past relationship with Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson and Anthony Gordon really helped. It was good to play with Gordy again."

Whether Burn stars in Madrid on Sunday against Spain remains to be seen, but as far as Newcastle are concerned, this was an important 90 minutes in his legs after weeks on the sidelines after an ankle injury on the eve of the season.

Burn said: "Yes, it's been tough. Obviously, I wanted to start the season well, but I got an injury straight away, so it was a long seven weeks.

I've said it before; I knew the season was going to be pretty inconsistent. We would like to be more consistent. I think as the season goes on, you will see we'll be more consistent with performances.

"But yes, just looking forward to what the next bit brings.

"You're playing with the very elite of the players in this country. You've got to be on top of your game every single moment that you're out there training to stand a chance and get in the game.

"So, as I said, I love coming here, I love testing myself against the best players that we've got. Hopefully, there's a lot more to come."

Given Burn's incredible run of doing things some people could only dream of, you wouldn't put it past him playing for England at Euro 2028. And playing - dare we say it, scoring - in a knockout game at St James' Park at the Gallowgate End at the Euros in an England shirt, that sounds right up the 6ft 7in star's street!

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