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It felt strange watching Dan Neil play for Sunderland U21s at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League International Cup
Seeing Dan Neil stride out at the Stadium of Light for an U21s game in front of just a few hundred people felt strange. This is a player who, only months ago, lifted a trophy at Wembley as captain – the first local lad to do so since the legendary Raich Carter in 1937.
I spoke to him after that play-off semi-final second leg against Coventry City: his eyes were glazed, his voice distant, still unable to properly process what had just happened. A few weeks later, the Sunderland lad who had lived his entire life in red and white was leading the club back to the Premier League.
Neil’s story is stitched through the divisions and the competitions. Papa John’s Trophy, League Cup, FA Cup, League One, the Championship, the Premier League – 200 senior appearances in all competitions. He has been an important piece of Sunderland’s rise from the doldrums, a constant thread in Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ reboot, helping to carry the club from crisis to revival. For years, he has been part of Sunderland’s heartbeat.
And yet football moves brutally fast. Fit but no longer captain, Neil has found himself a bit-part player in recent months, a victim – ironically – of his own success last season. That’s why it felt so unusual seeing him turn out for the U21s this week. It had nothing to do with performance. He was excellent in the first half, looking sharp and taking the game seriously.
He scored Sunderland’s fourth goal, winning the ball in midfield, bursting through the centre of the pitch and finishing superbly. His attitude was exemplary: marshalling the younger lads, setting standards, and treating the occasion with total respect. He dipped slightly after the break, understandably still searching for full match fitness, but he looked, to me anyway, ready to answer a first-team call should it arise.
But will that call arrive under Régis Le Bris? The Frenchman has used him late in Premier League games, but that midfield has been locked down by Noah Sadiki and Granit Xhaka. When Habib Diarra picked up a groin injury, Le Bris turned to Chris Rigg in a more advanced role while Neil watched on. A recent switch to a back five has further limited his route to minutes, with the shape naturally reducing opportunities for an additional midfielder.
Yet the picture is not static. Xhaka and Sadiki are both one booking away from suspension, and the spectre of AFCON looms large – potentially taking Sadiki, Diarra, Arthur Masuaku, Chemsdine Talbi, Bertrand Traoré, Simon Adingra and Reinildo Mandava. In that scenario, Lutsharel Geertruida – who may otherwise have been a candidate for a midfield role – could be required in defence. Injuries crop up, too, as they always do. Doors open suddenly in football. Neil’s moment may arrive again sooner than expected.
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But then there’s the elephant in the room: his contract. The homegrown midfielder’s current deal runs out this summer, and as things stand, it doesn’t feel like the love affair will extend beyond 2026. If Neil doesn’t break into the team and have the impact he wants on Sunderland’s season, it would mark a sad end to a remarkable career in red and white. But football is a ruthless business – and who can really argue with Sunderland’s decision-makers when the club currently sits in the top four?
Whatever comes next, Dan Neil’s legacy is secure. He has been part of Sunderland’s modern renaissance, a bridge between what the club was and what it is becoming – a reminder that sometimes the boyhood dream does come true, even if it doesn’t last forever.
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