Dan Neil led the Sunderland team out against Cardiff City over the weekend.
Sunderland named Dan Neil as the new team captain before the opening game vs Cardiff City.
And the Sunderland academy man steered his side to a confident 2-0 win in what was Regis Le Bris’ opening game as manager.
It was also Neil’s 150th first-team appearance for Sunderland, in what is his fifth season as a first-team player at the Stadium of Light.
Last season was arguably the 22-year-old’s best campaign with the Black Cats.
Neil featured 42 times in the Championship, scoring four goals and assisting five more, with Premier League links to the South Shield-born midfielder.
The likes of Liverpool have been linked with Neil who is currently under contract at Sunderland until the summer of 2026.
His future remains somewhat uncertain. But fans and indeed the Sunderland players rate Neil highly, and the players have now described their team captain in one word.
Sunderland players describe Dan Neil in one word
The club recently asked several first-team players to describe Neil in one word.
Fellow academy man Anthony Patterson, along with Jack Clarke, both jokingly described Neil as ‘dopey’.
Meanwhile, Chris Rigg described Neil as ‘consistent’, whilst Leo Hjelde hailed his ‘vision’, with Romaine Mundle simply saying ‘quality’.
Jenson Seelt used the word ‘intelligent’, Dan Ballard said ‘technical’, and Alan Browne described Neil as a ‘baller’.
Browne partnered Neil in the centre of midfield against Cardiff City in a partnership that we could see used throughout this 2024/25 season.
The one word that Sunderland players missed to described Dan Neil
It’s clear that Neil is well-liked and well thought of by his Sunderland teammates.
But the one word that perhaps sums him up more than anything is simply ‘Sunderland’.
He’s a boyhood fan and now he’s the team captain, having graduated through the academy and having also gotten better and better with each season.
Neil has shown the current academy players that there’s a definite route into the first-team and likely beyond.
He’s also shown youngsters at other clubs that Sunderland is a great place to learn their trade and get exposure to first-team football.
Rigg has also helped with that, along with the likes of Patterson who’s also become a regular first-team player after coming through the academy.
Sunderland are next in action against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.