Sunderland journalist Phil Smith has been discussing Daniel Neil’s future at the club.
This comes after Smith recently made an appearance on The Roar Podcast from the Sunderland Echo to chat about all the latest news topics concerning the Black Cats.
After it was recently revealed by journalist Peter O’Rourke that Neil is set to sign a new three-year deal at Sunderland despite reported interest from Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, this is what Smith had to say on the matter.
He said: “We know that Leeds United were interested in him, Wolves have also been linked with him.
“That really is a consequence of the fact that everyone knows for a long period of time, Sunderland’s academy has been vulnerable and I think there was a time earlier in the summer when we all feared Dan Neil might be the next one to go.
“[Phil] Parkinson, unprompted, said that there had been talk about Dan, but Dan Neil had made clear that he wanted to stay and fight for a place at Sunderland.
“I think that was, like I say, one of the underrated positive moments because there will have been opportunities for him to leave, of that I have absolutely no doubt and it’s going to be interesting to see how that develops.”
According to the official Sunderland club website, Neil began his career at the club and has progressed through the youth ranks playing for the U18s and U23s along the way. The website also says that Neil made his senior debut for the club back in November 2018 in the EFL Trophy.
Do you think Neil will be a regular first team player for Sunderland soon?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
It’s great to hear that Neil chose to stay at Sunderland and is reportedly set to sign a new deal at the club, despite the reported interest in him from Leeds and Wolves.
This shows that Neil would prefer to challenge himself to fight for a place at Sunderland in the senior side rather than make a move to either of the interested Premier League clubs.
Moving forward, hopefully, the club can reward Neil for his loyalty to the club and give him some regular playing time in the first-team soon.