West Ham United are ‘leading the race’ to sign Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, according to Pete O’Rourke.
Opportunities have been hard to come by for the 24-year-old this campaign, with Neil finding it difficult to establish himself in Régis Le Bris’ starting lineup. This is largely due to the presence of club captain Granit Xhaka, the exceptional form of Noah Sadiki and the reliability of Habib Diarra whenever called upon, which has seen him drop down the pecking order.
The only occasion he completed a full match came earlier in the campaign during the Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town, a fixture in which he was also handed the captain’s armband.
Still, it is important to recognise the impact Neil had during Sunderland’s Championship push last year. He played a key role in their successful playoff run that secured promotion, featuring in 44 league matches while contributing two goals and three assists. There remains a strong belief that the midfielder retains the same qualities that made him such an important figure at the Championship.
It’s no surprise several clubs, including West Ham, are now reportedly eyeing a move for the 24-year-old as they look to reinforce their squad this winter.
It appears the Hammers are already accelerating efforts to sign Neil this winter, as O’Rourke claims that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are ‘leading the race’ for the transfer of the central midfielder to reinforce their squad.
Neil to West Ham
The former England U20 star was left out of Saturday’s squad that lost to West Ham, an indication that a departure from the Stadium of Light is on the cards amid West Ham’s interest, as per the report.
Across the last Championship campaign, he came out on top in 208 contests and recorded 46 interceptions. Those figures placed him inside the league’s top 9% for duels won, and top 7% for interceptions, and those qualities could prove useful in West Ham’s battle to avoid the drop.
With Tomas Soucek tipped to depart, pairing Neil with another reliable ball-winning midfielder like Matheus Fernandes could hand Nuno a compact midfield, especially when facing possession-based teams.
Having been frozen out of the squad, West Ham could get the midfielder at a cheap fee slightly above his £5m Transfermarkt valuation, as Sunderland are unlikely to demand a steep price, especially with his deal running out in the summer.
