Dan Neil was named in the EFL Team of the Week after his goal against Blackburn Rovers.
The Championship took to social media to post the XI, which also included Jack Clarke for the second match-day in a row.
Neil has been a key player to Sunderland’s new season and has received high praise in their opening five fixtures, with the midfielder already equalling his goal tally for the previous campaign (2).
The 21-year-old has found himself pushed further forward in a more attacking position in the middle of the park, with Pierre Ekwah taking up his previous role further back.
Neil has so far thrived off being given the freedom to be more creative and has been arguably their best player – though Clarke and Dan Ballard are definitely challenging him for that spot.
Neil netted on the opening day for Sunderland, though it proved to only be a consolation as they lost 2-1 to Ipswich Town.
However, his goal against Blackburn Rovers midweek proved to be a lot more vital. The youngster tucked away a brilliant drilled shot to help Sunderland re-take the lead just on half-time, before Clarke’s exceptional dribbling run ended with a third for the Black Cats in the second half.
Tony Mowbray should have joined Dan Neil and Jack Clarke in the Team of the Week
Neil’s impressive display resulted in his name being included in the Team of the Week alongside Clarke, who was part of the weekend’s line-up following his goal against QPR.
The pair were joined by Ryan Allsop (Hull), Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton), Dimitrios Goutas (Cardiff), Wout Faes and Kasey McAteer (Leicester), Alan Browne (Preston), Matt Godden (Coventry), Ryan Longman and Tom Bradshaw (Millwall).
Millwall’s Gary Rowett was also named as the Manager of the Week, though Sunderland fans will certainly have something to say about that. The Lions enjoyed a 3-0 win at home to Rotherham United, who have only picked up one win in their opening seven matches.
The Black Cats’ 3-1 win at Ewood Park was arguably much more impressive and made that little bit better by Tony Mowbray turning over his former club.
He won’t care that he hasn’t been included though, he would much rather take the three points and sit fourth in the Championship table.