I think Hackney is a better player than Dan, if we are being honest. There’s a reason Hackney was being selected for England U21’s and Dan was never handed a chance.
If we don’t bring in Xhaka or enough midfield cover then we’ll have to keep Dan. My personal opinion is I just don’t think he’s got the attributes to be a premier league player.
I think they are much of a muchness tbh, neither are stand out, game changing midfielders at championship level although I do believe both are good players and have potential to get better.
it’s a difficult one for Neill (actually think the stuff below is the same for Patto) as I don’t see another PL team offering him much more than we would either wages or playing minutes wise.
he could drop back to the championship to a favourite for promotion but they aren’t going to be offering him much bigger wages in my opinion.
Europe could be an option as he could get a gig in a top level division like serie a but salary wise he is unlikely to get a lot more than what he would get here.
I’d like him to stay as I think he could be a good squad player, question is, is he prepared to become a squad player after being team captain and regular starter for us…psychologically it’s a big drop but could open more doors next season as a free transfer.
ironically if our transfer business had seen defenders and strikers arrive early rather than midfielders he may have he more game time in pre season to impress, feels like he has been left behind and uncertainty of not signing a new deal won’t have helped
if he goes it will be with the best of wishes and thanks for the critical role he’s played in our return to the premier league as well as a little tinge of sadness
