Craig Hope has now revealed details of an offer that Newcastle United have made to try and sign Dan Burn before the January transfer window shuts.

The Lowdown: Centre-back still wanted

While the St James' Park club have done well by bringing in both Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood this month, they have still not signed a central defender since the start of January.

Niklas Sule and Adam Webster are two names who have been mentioned recently as potential centre-back signings, and with just a few days left until the window closes, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium will not want to leave their business too late.

The Latest: Burn bid

As per Daily Mail journalist Hope on Twitter, Brighton and Hove Albion have now rejected a bid worth around £8m from Newcastle for Burn.

He explained: "I’m told Brighton have rejected an offer of around £8m from NUFC for defender Dan Burn."

The Verdict: Do it now

With time ticking, and other positions still to be strengthened, the Tyneside club simply cannot afford to waste any more time, so they should now put in an offer for Burn which meets the Seagulls' valuation.

The 29-year-old has plenty of Premier League £20,000 per week at the Amex Stadium. He is renowned for his freakish height - 6 foot 7, to be exact - which makes him a beast in both boxes.

Premier League-accredited journalist Jonny Bentley believes that Burn 'will walk' into the Magpies' defence, and it is hard not to see why. He is currently averaging more tackles, interceptions and passes at a higher accuracy than Newcastle trio Ciaran Clark, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles in the top flight so far this season (WhoScored).

He would be a shrewd buy who could well go under the radar at St James' Park.

In other news, NUFC also 'want' to sign this 'top class' forward