As Sunderland continue to fly high this season, their captain, Dan Neil, has earned more and more praise for the way he leads the team.
At the age of just 23, it’s incredible how Dan Neil has stepped up to be the leader in this young and exciting Sunderland squad.
An influential and passionate midfielder, Neil has become a key figure under Regis Le Bris. Unsurprisingly, he’s also attracted attention from Premier League clubs over the last month.
Thankfully, he stuck around. He also played a big role in the recent win over local rivals Middlesbrough, bagging a goal before celebrating provocatively in front of the ‘Boro fans.
Dan Neil lets his natural instincts lead him as captain
So, how does someone so young deal with the pressure of being the leadership figure in the Sunderland squad? In an interview with the Sunderland Echo, Neil revealed all.
“To be honest, I think I’ve probably done it by not thinking about it as much,” Neil said. “Maybe [I was overthinking it before]. I think I spoke to Michael Proctor about it and he said a good thing. He said ‘we picked you to be captain because of what you do naturally. So stop thinking about it.'”
“That was the one bit of advice that kind of got us back to not thinking about it. I just try to do things naturally,” he added. “I’m not a massive shout-run baller. I look at the game in a different way. There’s other lads on the team that do that. I’ve said in many interviews that it’s not just about me being captain.”
Indeed, the Black Cats have experienced heads in the team who Neil can lean on, like Anthony Patterson, Chris Mepham, Luke O’Nien, and Patrick Roberts.
“We’ve got a really good leadership group and we’ve got lads that are growing into leaders every single week,” Neil said. “It’s about all of us coming together and leading the team.”
Dan Neil is almost irreplaceable for Sunderland
While the likes of Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg are more explicitly valuable to Sunderland, Dan Neil may be the most important player at the club right now.
He’s incredibly effective in the middle of the park, leads by example, and embodies everything that’s good about this current crop of Sunderland players.
As a Sunderland academy graduate who’s risen all the way to the top, Neil is the perfect example for other young players there, and it would be very difficult to replace him if he were to leave.
Hopefully, Neil can lead the team to glory this season and get them promoted, so that he can show what he’s capable of in the Premier League.