Dan Neil praised for all-action displays in Sunderland midfield

At the beginning of the 2024–25 season, Neil, a Boyhood Sunderland supporter, was named skipper, and Luke O’Nien, a veteran, was named club captain.

With 34 appearances in the Championship so far this season, the central midfielder has assisted Sunderland in their unexpected attempt to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Dan Neil – Sunderland league goals and appearances (per Fbref.com)
Season	Appearances (Starts)	Goals (Assists)
2020-21	2 (0)	0
2021-22	39 (31)	3 (7)
2022-23	45 (42)	2 (4)
2023-24	42	4 (5)
2024-25	34	2 (3)
As of March 4

In an outstanding Sunderland squad, Neil’s performances since receiving the captain’s armband have been particularly noteworthy, according to Jordan Newcombe, resident Black Cats specialist for Football League World.

“The player that surprised me the most, and this is going to be positively, I’m going to say Dan Neil,” Jordan told Football League World.

Being captain has undoubtedly been a huge step for him, and in the first few games of the season, he was just outstanding.

He then had a slight decline in performance for a few games.

But these days, he enters most games early, lets them know he’s doing well, holds the ball up effectively, and defends it well.

“In the event that Luke O’Nien advances up the field, he takes that back four. He is calm, knows what he must accomplish, and is aware of his destination if he must return.

He is aware of when to take a chance, when to shoot, and when not to shoot.

“After that brief period and run of subpar performances, he has been absolutely quality overall, though of course a player can make the occasional mistake here and there.”

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