Birmingham City should plot ambitious Sunderland transfer raid in early 2026 | OneFootball

Birmingham City should make an ambitious move for Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil in the January transfer window.

Birmingham City experienced a very busy summer transfer window but the Blues could and should already be looking ahead to the January transfer window with an ambitious swoop for Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil, surely something they should target.

Birmingham gained promotion back to the Championship from League One at the first attempt last season and the Blues set a record-breaking pace as they won the title by collecting 111 points across the 46-game campaign.

Despite their brilliance and dominance, City, led by owner and chairman Tom Wagner as well as manager Chris Davies, didn’t rest in the transfer market with plenty of new faces brought in to try and propel them back into the Premier League for the first time in over a decade and a half.

It had been a very strong start to the season in terms of their performance level but the reality of the jump in quality is perhaps beginning to bite for Birmingham, often stifled by the higher level of opposition.

That could lead to further business being conducted in the January transfer window to once again raise their level into becoming legitimate promotion contenders.

The Blues should be keen to try and take advantage of the spending of Sunderland to push for a move for the Black Cats’ former captain Dan Neil in the winter.

Dan Neil could push for a way out of Sunderland

The reason as to why Dan Neil is now the former captain of Sunderland is because of the Wearsiders’ remarkable level of spending over the summer, following their promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.

Among a raft of new additions that saw Sunderland spend over £150 million, they brought in former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen and the Switzerland international was then appointed their new captain by Regis Le Bris.

Hard to argue to not be in the side nor even be captain for Neil, given their other midfield additions have included club-record signing Habib Diarra and the highly-rated Noah Sadiki, Neil could find himself searching for regular game time in the winter.

The boon for Neil at Sunderland, and issue for Birmingham, at the moment would be that both Diarra and Sadiki have suffered injuries and will also depart for a little bit for the 2026 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco over the winter.

That would therefore suggest that Neil's involvement could be greater than what it has been but it was the case that Le Bris opted for more of a 4-2-3-1 with Chris Rigg playing in the 'ten' when Diarra first got injured, before Enzo Le Fee, who joined from Roma on a permanent deal this summer around the same time that Neil was actually linked with the Giallorossi, was used in their most recent outing.

Neil would still be seen as the replacement and cover for Sadiki but, given the plundering that Sunderland did in the transfer market, it still wouldn't be a surprise for him to be moved on and replaced in the squad, rather than used as the squad player.

The 23-year-old South Shields-born midfielder made his professional debut for Sunderland back in 2018 and he has gone on to make close to over 200 appearances for the club in that time.

However, he is now a squad player this time around and that will set back both his career progress and personal development, especially if he continues to often remain an unused substitute as was the case in Sunderland’s most recent clash; a 2-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The midfielder has been the subject of interest from Everton in the past and he has already captained a team to promotion from the Championship, but dropping down a division could lead to his longer-term top-flight aspirations being fulfilled, becoming the key man for an ambitious and big spending Birmingham side.

It would be a coup for the Blues but they have already shown they can take advantage of Sunderland’s seemingly limitless spending power following their promotion, with Patrick Roberts another player who was pushed into being surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light before his loan move to St Andrew’s right before the deadline.

Dan Neil would be ideally suited to Chris Davies’ style at Birmingham

In League One, Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata was a level above in terms of his tenacity and aggression, with his reading of the game supreme as a defensive midfielder.

At a higher level, that remains important but his limitations on the ball have perhaps been further clear to see against improved opposition.

That has left both Tommy Doyle and Marc Leonard fighting for a spot alongside Paik Seung-ho but neither, despite potential and promise, have really shown an ability to dominate a midfield for a promotion-chasing side in second-tier.

According to FotMob, Neil was one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in the Championship last season with 252 ball recoveries the most of anyone in the division. He was also towards the top end of the individual player rankings for interceptions, tackles and duels won. In terms of his duels won, Neil managed close to a remarkable five successful duels per game.

Neil managed 1.88 tackles per game last season. In contrast, Birmingham's current most prolific tackler is Keshi Anderson with 4.5 per game, albeit with far fewer minutes. Their best midfield tackler at the moment is Paik, with 1.9, and Iwata, at 1.8. He matches Iwata and Paik for tackling but with a better pass success rate than both of them, as well as Doyle.

Birmingham need to win the right to stamp the same level of authority that they had in League One on the Championship this season and Neil's effective aggression and defensive nous would help that, whilst also boosting the Blues' build-up play in possession.

Dan Neil would provide Chris Davies with the perfect solution as an automatic starter in the midfield with the Sunderland man more than capable of being aggressive in the tackle like Iwata, but also far superior in possession, which is key for the way in which Davies wants his City side to play.

It would certainly be viewed as a coup now but it is seemingly surely a possible deal and could also transform the quality and, therefore, fortunes of Birmingham this season.