Alan Browne has now revealed who encouraged him to join Sunderland.
The midfielder was confirmed as the Black Cats’ second signing of the summer this morning.
Browne had been reported to have been ‘incredibly keen’ to join the club, and it wasn’t long before he had sealed a move to the Stadium of Light.
The 29-year-old arrives on a three-year contract after rejecting an extension at Preston North End, while he also snubbed moves to Sheffield United, Coventry City and Goztepe.
Alex Neil ‘only said good things’ about Sunderland
While he has admitted Kristjaan Speakman and Regis Le Bris had a huge influence on his decision, he has also revealed that a former Sunderland man encouraged him to complete the switch.
Speaking on the club’s official YouTube channel, he said: “The only person I spoke to was Alex Neil, who only said good things. I do take his advice on board.
“He is someone I worked with for quite some time at Preston. I don’t think he would point me in the wrong direction. He had a lot of good things to say about the club.”
How different things could be…
It has been almost two years since Neil left Sunderland, having guided them back to the Championship.
The 43-year-old left the Black Cats with so many good memories and continues to speak highly of the club, so it is a real shame that he had to leave himself such a bad name for himself in the north.
Neil failed to prove himself at Stoke City and is now without a job since leaving seven months ago.
There’s no way of knowing where he could have taken the club if he had stayed, but there is much more positivity around Wearside now than there was six months ago, so fans won’t be looking too far back with regret.