Newcastle ace Dan Burn has revealed that England boss Thomas Tuchel branded him ‘unprofessional’ during a private FaceTime call. The towering defender is hoping to win his first international cap when the Three Lions face Albania on Friday night. He could also feature against Latvia on Monday, with both fixtures taking place under the Wembley arch.
Burn was one of several surprise picks, with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Jarell Quansah also being named in the squad. He was informed of the good news before scoring for Newcastle in last weekend’s Carabao Cup final. The 32-year-old received a late-night call from Tuchel but found himself apologising to the England boss just moments after picking up the phone.
He recalled: “The manager FaceTimed us on Tuesday and said that they were debating calling us [me] up, and would let us know on Thursday. Then it got to six o’clock on Thursday night.
“[I had] not heard anything so I said to my wife: ‘Nothing’s going to happen’. I got a text saying: ‘Are you still awake?’ at 10. I was like: ‘Yes’, straight away. First of all, he said I was very unprofessional for not being in bed for 10 o’clock, so I apologised for that.
“He just said he needed to end the day on a good note, that he wanted us to be in the squad, just what he felt my strengths were, which I explained when I spoke to him.”
Burn is coming off the best footballing week of his life after helping Newcastle to win their first domestic trophy in 70 years. He is yet to properly celebrate, though, having switched his focus to playing for England immediately after leaving Wembley.
“It was strange,” he said. “As soon as I left the stadium my focus completely switched to this. I had my family here and the kids and we ended up getting on the bus about 12 o’clock back to the hotel.
“It was getting a bit rowdy and I was just ready to go to sleep! I know the club’s put stuff out about there being a parade [a week] on Saturday, so I think that’s when I’ll celebrate, but I’ve waited a long time for this opportunity and didn’t want to spoil it.”
Burn will become the oldest England debutant since Kevin Davies in 2010 if he plays against Albania or Latvia. He is not in any danger of breaking the all-time record, though. That honour is held by Alec Morton, who was into his forties when he earned his first cap in 1873.
