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Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil
Italian giants AS Roma have reportedly joined the race to sign Sunderland captain Dan Neil.
The news comes after Everton with a £15million move for Neil in January, with David Moyes said to be keen on a deal after keeping tabs on the 23-year-old since seeing him at the Academy of Light while he was Black Cats boss. Premier League rivals West Ham have also recently been linked with the homegrown midfielder.
Moyes reportedly sent scouts from Everton to watch Sunderland’s game against Burnley at Turf Moor earlier this season, while West Ham have also been keeping tabs on Neil, who has cemented himself as a key player under successive managers at the Stadium of Light. However, it has now been claimed that AS Roma are showing an interest in him.
Sunderland signed French midfielder Enzo Le Fee on loan from the Serie A club in January. And, having kept tabs on their loanee, AS Roma have reportedly been impressed with Neil’s performances while they have been watching Le Fee’s progress.
On social media, transfer insider Pete O’Rourke wrote: “Roma have joined West Ham in pursuit of Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil. Neil has caught the eye of the Italian giants after they sent officials to keep track of Enzo Le Fee who is currently on loan at Sunderland from Roma.”
Kristjaan Speakman says that Sunderland will revisit contract talks with Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin in the summer as the club turns its full focus to its promotion push.
Sunderland have been in dialogue with the pair and their representatives for a number of months, with the duo now in the final 18 months of their current deals. As of yet there has been no breakthrough but the sporting director says he has no concerns about the impact on the pair and that it would now be best for everyone to take stock at the end of the campaign.
“We’ve had those conversations with the guys," Speakman said. "There’s no question over Dennis or Dan’s commitment to Sunderland. But I don’t think at the minute, it’s the right moment to be getting into too much of a conversation with them.
“That’s really just down to the short time period we’ve got to the summer. We’ve got so much to achieve, and we need to stay focused. Dan’s our captain. I think he’s grown into that captaincy role and, as the season has gone on, has become more and more influential. At the minute, we’re really comfortable with where he’s at, we’re just zoned in and focused on these remaining games."
What has Dan Neil said about his Sunderland contract situation?
Neil himself alluded to that being his preferred approach when speaking to The Echo after the 3-2 win over Swansea City in December.
"In terms of the contract stuff, my only goal is to get us promoted this season," he said. "That's everyone's goal this season and we just need to keep plugging away. All that [contract talk etc] is background noise, I'm here and all I'm interested in is those automatic places and getting us promoted back to the Premier League.”