EDDIE HOWE has admitted that moving Dan Burn back to left-back is one of the options he is considering as he attempts to deal with Newcastle United’s defensive issues.
Lewis Hall was ruled out for remainder of the season last week as he needs surgery to repair damage to a bone in his foot that was sustained during the recent defeat at Liverpool.
With Hall unavailable, Tino Livramento is likely to move across to left-back as Newcastle take on West Ham tomorrow, with Kieran Trippier starting on the right of the back four.
Trippier could also play in the left-back berth, with Burn another option for the position. While the 32-year-old has spent the last year or so playing as a centre-half, his early days as a Newcastle player saw him lining up at left-back.
When asked whether Burn was now an option in the left-back position, Howe said: “I wouldn’t rule anything out. I think it would be foolish for me to do so, especially with such a small squad.
“That versatility which we have in the squad, players who can play dual roles, is hugely important and we do have a few players that we can shuffle around. We are going to need to do that with limited options.
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“With these two injuries we’ve had (to Hall and Sven Botman), I think we have six fit senior defenders. That is very light, so we might need all of those to play different positions.”
As well as being without Hall for the next three matches, Newcastle will also be unable to call on the services of Anthony Gordon for the league games against West Ham and Brentford and the Carabao Cup final with Liverpool.
That means Howe will have to assemble a new-look left-hand side, something he has been mulling over in the last few days.
“That's a challenge,” he admitted. “It’s a challenge we've been trying to work towards this week, finding solutions.
“I think Lewis and Anthony had a very good relationship. You could see that when they played. As they started to play games together and obviously train together and the number of times that they did, I think naturally you begin to understand each other's movements and preferences.
"So, yeah, it’s potentially a new-look left side for us, but that doesn't mean it can't be really effective, especially with the players that we still have left available to play. And the fortunate thing is, on that side of the pitch, (we’ve got) lots of players that want or have enjoyed playing left midfield previously.”
