Just over six weeks ago, he did what no homegrown Sunderland skipper had done since the legendary Raich Carter in 1937, leading the Lads to a Wembley triumph after perhaps the most thrilling and satisfying playoff run of all.
Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Since that unforgettable day in London, the overhaul has begun and the pieces on the Sunderland chessboard have started to move.
Jobe has departed for Borussia Dortmund and we’ve made moves to bring the squad up to par for what’ll be a challenging Premier League season, bringing in highly-rated Senegal international Habib Diarra from Strasbourg as well as snapping up Noah Sadiki from newly-crowned Belgian champions Union Saint Gilloise.
As such, speculation seems to be growing regarding Dan Neil, specifically whether the club may be tempted to ‘cash in’ on our skipper and thereby avoid running the risk of losing him for free should he opt not to put pen to paper on a new deal.
Inevitable? Perhaps, but even if the club hierarchy aren’t panicking, I can’t help but feel that any eagerness on behalf of the fans to see Neil move on to pastures new is driven by the same thing that saw him take plenty of stick at various stages during the 2024/2025 season.
As I’ve written previously, Neil is living all of our dreams as Sunderland captain and he’s walked a path that every single one of us would’ve loved to follow.
That can lead to jealousy and just like Tommy Watson — himself the victim of some disgraceful criticism before he single-handedly sent us to the Premier League — he often seems to be judged by different standards to other players.
It’s perfectly true that he didn’t perform at his best during the playoff final, but so what?
Sheffield United v Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
He wasn’t the only player in a Sunderland shirt who didn’t dominate the game at Wembley but the standards he often hit during the season and the way in which he regularly drove the Lads on were more than enough to compensate for one iffy game under the arch.
It’s too simplistic and premature to paint Neil as some kind of contract rebel, not least because we’re not privy to what goes on behind closed doors and that his on-field attitude last season wasn’t that of a player who’s desperate to leave.
It’s the easiest thing in the world to accuse players of being greedy and of putting their own interests ahead of the club’s, but I prefer to look at it from a different angle.
In ‘Keane’ (2002), the former Manchester United skipper recalls an exchange that took place during a time when his future at Nottingham Forest was in doubt. As he pondered whether to sign a new deal at the City Ground, Keane expressed his gratitude when Stuart Pearce forcefully addressed the squad and defended the Irishman’s right to hold out for as good a deal as he could get.
To my mind, the same logic should apply to Neil and like any footballer, he’s not bound by a restraint of trade act.
He’s a supremely talented player with Premier League potential in abundance and if he feels that he can earn a more lucrative wage elsewhere, that’s his right and it should be respected. That doesn’t make him disloyal or a disruptive presence and to claim otherwise is wrong.
Sunderland v Coventry City - Sky Bet Championship - Play Off - Semi Final - Second Leg - Stadium of Light Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images
It’s fair to say that our transfer business so far suggests we’re looking for players of higher quality than we recruited in the Championship.
That was always going to be the case and with the likes of Diarra, Sadiki and Enzo Le Fée on hand, Neil will have to raise his game even further in order to retain his place in the starting eleven, but competition for places is vital and if he opts to stay, it’s a challenge he ought to relish.
There are countless players who probably need to depart Sunderland this summer (some due to the need for game time elsewhere and others because they’re simply not Premier League class), but Neil isn’t one of them.
I want him to stay and to lead the Lads into what’ll hopefully be an exciting new era at the Stadium of Light. Only he knows how the land lies and what he wants out of his footballing career, but he’s got the world at his feet in red and white and I’d love to see him on board for the next stage of the journey.
Let’s see how it plays out, but let’s also not rush to make judgements on a player who’s given a great deal to this club over the years. He deserves far better than that.