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Dan Neil has emerged on the Blades' radar amid links to other Championship sides

Sheffield United are interested in Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, with a number of clubs keen on signing the out-of-favour midfielder, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The Black Cats are undergoing a fine first season back in the Premier League under Regis Le Bris, although their promotion, which, ironically, was secured at the Blades' expense at Wembley Stadium in last May's Championship play-off final, has come at a cost for some of their previous EFL stalwarts.

Indeed, the North East club broke the record for the amount of money spent by a newly-promoted Premier League side in the previous transfer window, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus backing Le Bris with a reported £161.7m to help transform his squad as they looked to defy the odds and maintain their position in the top flight for the long-term.

It hasn't quite been the season which Neil would have hoped for on a personal level, though, as the arrivals of players such as former Arsenal man and Switzerland international captain, Granit Xhaka, have caused his gametime to diminish significantly.

It has also been a tumultuous first period of the season for Sheffield United, who initially replaced Chris Wilder with Ruben Selles weeks after Tom Watson's last-gasp strike in North London consigned the Steel City side to a second successive campaign in the second tier.

However, after COH Sports admitted they failed with their experiment involving the Spaniard, which lasted just six competitive games, Wilder has since returned to Bramall Lane for a third stint in the dugout, and the decision appears to finally be paying dividends, as United have turned a corner in recent weeks in terms of results and performances.

The 58-year-old had been preparing to make a handful of key decisions in the lead-up to the current window, with Ben Godfrey and Louie Barry seeing their loan stints terminated early, as was first reported by FLW, whilst he has seen veteran forward, Patrick Bamford, extend his contract in S2 until June 2027 after scoring six times in his first 11 appearances.

After such activity was conducted, Wilder will also hope to be successful in landing yet another man with experience of promotion from the Championship, albeit the Blades are entering an already congested transfer race.

FLW can exclusively reveal that the Blades are the latest Championship side to express an interest in the 23-year-old midfielder, who is currently out-of-contract at the Stadium of Light in six months' time.

Such developments come after previous links to the division's runaway leaders, Coventry City and their Midlands rivals, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City, were reported by Alan Nixon in December.

Another club interested in securing a deal for the man who previously featured 131 times at Championship level whilst scoring eight times and providing 12 assists are Scottish Premiership giants, Rangers.

Sky Sports reported last week that the Light Blues are interested in striking deals for Neil and his Sunderland counterpart, Romaine Mundle, as they undergo their first transfer window under former Sheffield Wednesday boss, Danny Rohl, after closing the gap on league leaders, Hearts, following a run of five successive league victories.

It has also been claimed that the South Shields native is a target for clubs in the Bundesliga, namely, FC Koln, who are currently 11th in the German top flight after regaining such status at the end of last season, despite the bizarrely-timed dismissal of current Bristol City boss, Gerhard Struber.

Recent reports also suggest that, as a result of Neil currently having just six months to run on his current Wearside deal, a 'cut-price' deal could potentially be struck by any potential suitors, albeit the England youth international is said to be reluctant to complete an immediate exit.

However, it is now clear that the man who earns an ESTIMATED £15,000 per week wage in the North East is wanted by Wilder, although it remains to be seen if the Blades will be successful in this transfer pursuit.

Dan Neil's experience and quality could aid Sheffield United's play-off hopes

Despite having plenty of options in the middle of the park, there is no doubt that a player of Neil's quality on the ball and combativeness out of possession could help United edge even closer to the play-off positions as they attempt to resurrect a disastrous start.

Although Wilder's men suffered defeat against Queens Park Rangers in their last league outing prior to a shock FA Cup exit against Mansfield Town, they are only nine points behind sixth with 21 games of their season still to play.

They could find it difficult to lure Neil down the M1 amid his reported stance and competition from divisional rivals and clubs with greater reputations. However, it would certainly be a signal of intent if a deal materialised for United.