The midfielder is into the final year of his contract but has already featured prominently in Sunderland’s pre-season content
Neil is entering the final 12 months of his current deal, and while contract talks remain ongoing, his appearance on the club’s in-house media channels ahead of pre-season could be seen as a positive sign that he’s set to stay put for the 2025-26 campaign from both player and club.
Everton remain admirers and are monitoring Neil’s situation closely. But with the midfielder pictured at the Academy of Light on Saturday and delivering a composed interview about the season ahead, all indications point to him being part of Régis Le Bris’ plans for the top flight.
“Yeah, good summer,” Neil said when asked about the off-season. “Obviously, I'm sure all the lads celebrated it, you know, the result last year. And then, you know, for the last probably week or two, we've all kind of had our heads screwed back on to make sure we come in in good condition and obviously done all the tests today. But yeah, it was a good summer. Nice little reset before, obviously, a massive year.”
Neil played a pivotal role in Sunderland’s promotion campaign and has become one of the more experienced figures in what remains a youthful squad. While not named club captain officially, his stature within the dressing room continues to grow, though he downplayed overthinking it at the Premier League level.
“I haven't really thought about that,” he added when asked about the captancy and potentially skippering Sunderland in the top-flight. “We're just coming into training to get as prepared as we can for, obviously, what's going to be a tough season. There's no doubt about that.”
“One thing I know about this group, and I said it in previous interviews last year, is that we've got great character, a great team spirit, and we're going to work as hard as we can in this pre-season together. Work on weaknesses that we had and make sure that we prepare as well as we can.”
Neil also spoke of his excitement at reuniting with teammates after several weeks away, including returning loanees and those recovering from injury. “I mean, for the last week, I've kind of looked forward to coming back in. You know, you enjoy your holidays and then, when it comes close to the date you come back, you're just desperate to get in and see the lads.
“Because you see each other every single day, and then all of a sudden you don't see each other for about five, six weeks. So yeah, it's great seeing all the lads again. You know, lads that have been on loan that we haven't seen in a while and, you know, chatting with them and then, obviously, all gruelling the bleep test out together. There's no better team bonding than that. So yeah, I think everyone's enjoyed this day so far.”
Neil also offered his thoughts on the new away kit design inspired by Marco Gabbiadini’s iconic 1990s shirt. “The away kit is lovely,” he smiled. “I'd seen rumours that it was going to be kind of that blue kit, Marco Gabbiadini, and my dad's showed us that kit plenty of times. But, you know, the changing room when we first came in, it's even nicer than what the photos showed online. And, you know, we're looking forward to playing in that next year.”
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Neil’s contract situation remains one of the key unresolved issues as Sunderland continue their summer rebuild, but the early signs from pre-season suggest the Wearside-born midfielder is fully locked in on the task ahead. A new deal would go a long way to securing a player who remains central to the club’s Premier League ambitions.
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