'I am happy that we get the derbies back'
Newcastle defender Dan Burn says he is excited about the Tyne-Wear derby next season and is hoping to face the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Champions League after the Magpies secured fifth spot in the Premier League.
Asked who his dream opponents would be this time around, Burn said: "I want to play against the best teams, so I'd love to play against Real Madrid, Barcelona. That's why you want to play Champions League football - it'll be exciting.
"It'll be good to even see Sunderland getting back to the Premier League. It's such a weird thing because I'm really excited about it.
"I shouldn't be, but those were the games when I was a kid. The derby days were the first fixtures I'd look for when they came out, so I wouldn't say that I'm happy for them coming up but I am happy that we get the derbies back."
Sunderland will play in the top flight for the first time since the 2016-17 season after coming from behind to beat Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship play-off final.
While Burn is excited to have those derbies back, he believes Newcastle can push on further next season.
He said: "I don't think we're far away from sort of challenging at the top. The gaffer has mentioned that we've not strengthened in the last few seasons, so it will probably be a big summer to add players and keep it fresh.
"It's probably just going to be that change of mentality where we really get that belief that we should be up there.
"It would be great to have a good Champions League run and I'm sure that he would love to win another cup. I feel like now that we've won that first cup, it's broken the seal a bit and now we feel like we can really do that again."
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