Dan Neil has opened up on how his role at Sunderland has changed this season and how Pierre Ekwah’s injury has impacted him in recent games.
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, the midfielder explained how he has been given more freedom up the pitch and admitted that his new role has come with more responsibility.
Neil burst onto the scene for his boyhood club during the 2021-22 season, making 39 appearances and claiming 10 goal contributions as he helped Sunderland win promotion to the Championship.
The 21-year-old’s form earned him interest from the likes of Burnley and Aston Villa in the past, though he chose to remain on Wearside.
Neil was handed a deeper role for the Black Cats last season and his impressive displays were arguably less noticeable, however Ekwah has taken his place this time round and he has been pushed forward.
Neil has already netted twice and picked up one assist during the current campaign, while his exceptional performances haven’t gone unnoticed by supporters.
Dan Neil on his new position change for Sunderland
After being named in the EFL Team of the Week, Neil spoke of his impressive start to the term in a more attacking position.
“This year Pierre has played a bit of the deeper role that I kind of did last year,” Neil told the Echo.
“I’ve been given that licence to get in the box, use my legs and try and be a bit more creative than I was last year.
“With Pierre’s injury I kind of had to switch back into the number six role and kind of had that switch of mindset of I can’t always run off and get in the box. I have to be aware of transition and things like that.
“The experience of playing that role last year has really helped me and all it takes is a little switch to go from the number eight or number 10 role and switch straight into that six role.”
When asked whether Neil has been given more leadership responsibilities, he said: “A little bit yeah. I think obviously I’ve played a lot of games but I think it’s a good thing for the likes of me, Ballard, even Luke who probably isn’t as experienced as most of the league in the Championship.
“Even Clarkey, Pat, it’s adding a new dimension to our game on the pitch and off the pitch. We have a very young group here and we’re the ones who have to be the experienced heads around here as weird as it sounds.”
Neil equalled his goal tally for the previous campaign midweek, as he tucked away a brilliant drilled shot against Blackburn Rovers to re-take the lead.
Sunderland will be very glad that he put pen to paper on a new deal back in March, as they can certainly expect increasing interest in his signature over the next couple of transfer windows.