Dan Burn was a defender at Fulham from 2011 until 2016. A towering centre back who impressed after his arrival from Darlington in 2011, he had captained the Under-21 squad and enjoyed success in loan moves to Yeovil Town and Birmingham City before he broke into the first team during 2013-14.
Dan joined Darlington as a 17-year-old, signing professional terms on 1 July 2009. In two full seasons with the club, he managed 14 league appearances and 19 in total.
Fulham (2011-2016)[]
Dan had impressed Fulham scouts who had watched him the previous season and a deal was eventually agreed between the two clubs on 14 April 2011 to sign him for a fee thought to be around £350,000 plus future incentives, with a view to him joining officially on 1 July 2011.
He immediately became a main figure in the heart of defence for the Under-21 squad and was made captain of the side. The following season, in 2012-13 he joined Yeovil Town who were in League One for what was initially a one month youth loan, however three loan extensions later he played out the entire season with them which culminated in promotion to the Championship via the play-offs. Despite the clubs best efforts to secure him on loan for the following season, he chose a season-long loan to Birmingham. He was recalled from this loan, however, on 2 January 2014 in order to bolster Fulham's first team options in the centre of defence following a flood of goals conceded in their recent matches.
His first team debut came immediately after his recall from Birmingham, starting in an FA Cup tie away at Norwich City on 4 January 2014. He immediately became one of René Meulensteen's main centre back and a fan favourite with impressive opening displays at the club. After a strong performance in a 2-2 draw away at Manchester United, he had to clarify a quote he made post-match as a joke after it appeared he compared their play to a Conference side when mentioning how many headed clearances he had to make after their record breaking 81 crosses during the game.
Dan appeared to have been frozen out of the side when Felix Magath took charge in February, and only made a handful of appearances under him. On one occasion, Magath chose to play him at right back (a position he'd never played before) against the pacey Oussama Assaidi when playing Stoke City much to the bemusement of Fulham fans. Despite a tough time under the German, he was reinstated to the first team shortly after the start of the 2014-15 season, and became a regular once more as Kit Symons stepped in as Caretaker Manager in September 2014. His first goal for the club came in a League Cup tie at home to Doncaster Rovers in a 2-1 victory. A first league goal for Dan came a month later, as he headed in a last-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw away at Rotherham.