It would be interesting to know what his agent has said to him. And who that agent is. I like Dan, he's a good player, and being around others would or should make him better. But, and I cannot stop singing this song, a good agent should get his player to sign the first genuine "set you up" contract that he can. The rest will follow. He hasn't done that yet, and frankly must be absolutely dreading a bad injury, accident or some other freak occurrence that would mean his current deal is his last. That would put him among the rest of us in a few years time. I'm not sure he'll get much more elsewhere, and it really is true that the grass is usually just the same colour "over there" . But it is up to him, and emphatically not his agent. He is 24 before the end of the year. It needs sorting out, but I don't hear the clubs that might pay a lot more banging down the door.
Tbh I’m now completely resigned to Neil leaving. I’m perhaps more worried about how Rigg is gonna get minutes, given we may have a season of ELF and Diarra getting shoehorned into playing as 10s ahead of us.
I think hes fecked himself in that regard by not signing a deal sooner. We haven't messed about in the middle and hes got a load of quality competition there now.
Have you seen his (I know, lol,youtube clips) he seems to come into midfield for the ball, presses, attacking mindset but also knows where to be in the box. looking forward to watching him play.
Unfortunately if Neil isn't signing a contract he will leave. Tbh he could be prime Messi, but if he's not signing one he's gone. The club won't want a player to leave for a free, they've proven that time and time again. Plus he's pure profit on PSR
Same at Hull. I’d like him to stay but just because you were on low earnings (through choice) you can’t demand a higher rate than your performances merit.
Fully agree. I’d love to see him stay and fight, but it’s become almost impossible for him now I feel. We have moved forward at lightning speed and likely fought him and his agent out. Like you say, he should have signed.
100% mate. That video spoke volumes. The lads were bouncing and ripping each other, he seemed moody and offended whenever the camera was pointed at him. As a leader, it’s utter gash going on like that. He should have been one of the leaders, he behaved like an outsider and someone who wasn’t fully integrated into the team bonding.
Love Neil. Think he's been great across L1 and the Championship. Think he's been given some undue criticism at times but he's been a pretty consistent performer without grabbing the headlines. However, the contract is the big problem. The club will not allow him to be here after the window closes if it isn’t signed, we just don't operate like that anymore (see Stewart and Clarke). Also, the players signed who play in similar positions are just better footballers in my opinion, specifically Xhaka. If he wants to sign the contract, stay and fight for his position at the risk of not being a guaranteed starter i'd love that. But at this moment in time it's pretty clear he won't be here in September and I agree with the club on their stance to not allow assets to enter their final contract year.
I'd rather play 5 minutes in the a Sunderland shirt in the Premier league than none. Lads played through all the ****e to get there, once there, there seems to be an issue with signing a contract. I get it though, it's like a work when you do all the hard work but your gaffer takes the credit in the meeting. We can but wait I suppose.
I'm not so sure, he's only played about 60 professional games and hasn't played in England. He'd good on the ball but doesn't seem too keen on tracking back, which he'd need to do. Basing the probability of him starting on a few friendlies is a bit fragile imo. I believe Le Bris has a few surprises to throw in ... ... and there's still a long time left in the window.
Yep. I agree with that more or less. But I can't help seeing a practical side to it. He could have been in the same position today, having signed a contract at the same time as Ballard. He's let a lot of money go, his agent has rolled the dice with him IMO. One bad injury last season and he is looking for work in a few years time. Sign the bloody thing. Get yourself set up, you have earned that. Then think about the football, move if you want. But it's a short career, anything can happen. A player needs a lot of coaching, endless hours of it. But he needs rock solid, basic life advice too.
Defensively you can see it’s not his position, but he’s absolutely sound with the ball and should make a decent career for himself.
Le Bris seems to be taking the time to find out about how some players will react in different situations ... ... in my mind it's pointless trying to decide what his final plans are when he probably doesn't know himself.
I still think rigg gets plenty minutes mind, bonus that we don’t have to run him into the ground. Still only just turned 18, can’t wait to see him get amongst it