"A massive step" - Sunderland AFC: Dan Neil claim emerges after captaincy doubts | OneFootball

The midfielder has come through Sunderland's academy to captain his boyhood club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland AFC skipper Dan Neil has been highlighted as the biggest positive of the Black Cats’ Championship campaign to date.

Every football fan loves to see one of their own starring for their club, with Neil coming through the Sunderland ranks to captain his boyhood side.

And it has been claimed that Neil’s performances since being named captain has been the brightest highlight of a solid season so far for Sunderland.

Dan Neil praised for all-action displays in Sunderland midfield

Boyhood Sunderland fan Neil was named skipper at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, with veteran Luke O’Nien becoming club captain.

The central midfielder has gone on to make 34 appearances in the Championship so far this season, helping Sunderland in their surprise bid for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Football League World's resident Black Cats expert, Jordan Newcombe, believes that Neil’s performances since being handed the captain’s armband have been standout in an impressive Sunderland team.

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

“Obviously it’s been a massive step for him, being captain, and the first couple of games he was absolutely unbelievable when it came to playing at the start of the season.

“And then he had a little dip in his performances, a few games after that.

“But most games now he is going in, he’s letting them know early, he’s doing well, he’s holding up the ball great, he’s defending the ball great.

“He moves into that back four if (Luke) O’Nien moves up the pitch. He’s composed, he knows what he needs to do and if he needs to drop back he knows where he needs to be.

“He knows when to shoot, when not to shoot, or when to take a chance.

“Obviously a player can make the odd mistake here and there, but overall he has been absolutely quality after that little spell and run of poor performances.”

Dan Neil’s performances have justified midfielder being named captain

Regis Le Bris made the bold step of naming Neil captain at the start of the season, despite O’Nien, who often wore the armband the season prior, remaining at the club.

In fact, despite being stripped of the captaincy, O’Nien has remained a regular starter under Le Bris, primarily playing at centre-back but also using his versatility by being deployed at full-back.

Although there was talk on the terraces questioning if Neil could deal with the added pressure of captaining the side, Jordan feels the midfielder has been unaffected by the armband.

“A lot of people would have thought that the captaincy would have been too much, when for me, knowing him for years on a personal scale, stuff like that hasn’t really bothered him, when it came to if he was captain or if he wasn’t,” Jordan continued.

“He’s a strong-minded lad, and if he wants to try and do something, he will put all his effort into doing it, give 100%.

“It shows now, that even if he has a few bad performances, which all players do – what a lot of people tend to forget – they just like to pick and choose at times – he really puts his head and his heart into his game.

“Especially for the team he plays for, and I think that is one of the things that makes a captain, a captain as well.

“I think you see that with O’Nien as well, but that the one that surprised me more is Dan because he hasn’t let the captaincy go to his head.

“He always dos a huddle at the start of the game to let the boys know, to encourage the boys what to do, and no matter if we go, 1-0, 2-0, we keep our heads up and fight for the match - and that’s what we tend to do."

“I think Dan has been the best, positive player this season. He strives for everything, and that proves why he should be captain.”