Sunderland continue talks with 22-year-old after offer rejection

Now though, a fresh update on talks has emerged from sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.

As quoted by The Northern Echo, the key Sunderland figure stated that talks about retaining top talents are ongoing with a number of players when asked specifically about Neil. He said:

“We’ve always tried to retain the top talent. Those conversations are ongoing for numbers of players.

“I think we try to keep a really, really close contact with the agents of all the players to know how they’re feeling, where they feel they are at the minute, what they think is the next step for them, how comfortable are they with the environment, what can we do to chop and change things here to make sure they’re really, really comfortable.

And naturally, if anyone’s got a contract they’re starting to get towards the conclusion of, then we’re always really active on that front.”

Neil is under contract until 2026, but the Black Cats want him tied down to a longer deal.

Progress to make
Now that Sunderland finally have a new boss in place, the club can start to make meaningful strides forward with their plans for the summer. That looks set to include trying to tie key players like Neil down to new deals.

A key man to retain
Neil has become a key influence at the Stadium of Light since his breakthrough so it would be a highly popular move to further secure his future with two years already on his current deal.

It would be massively deserved too, likely handing the midfielder a good pay hike after the strides forward he has made over the years.

Across all competitions, Neil has chipped in with 10 goals and 17 assists in 149 games for Sunderland. The Black Cats will be hoping the academy graduate can continue to add to that tally for some time yet as they embark on a journey back up the leagues.

It is hoped that brighter days lay ahead of the Wearsiders, and Neil can be a big part of bringing Premier League football back to the Stadium of Light.

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