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FLW's Coventry City fan pundit has given his verdict on the potential signing of Dan Neil

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Coventry City have been linked with a January move for Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil.

According to Teamtalk, the Sky Blues are in the mix as one of the clubs eyeing a deal for the 23-year-old.

Neil helped the Black Cats earn promotion to the Premier League, at the expense of Frank Lampard’s side, last season, with the two sides meeting in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

He featured 44 times in the regular campaign, as well as all three of their play-off games, but has so far struggled for game time in the top flight.

This has led to speculation surrounding a potential departure from Régis Le Bris’ squad in the new year, which could open the door for Coventry to swoop.

Coventry City urged to complete Dan Neil deal

When asked if this deal would be welcome within the squad, FLW’s Coventry fan pundit Chris Deez claimed that Neil is someone that the club should be pushing to sign to help their bid to gain promotion to the Premier League.

He believes added midfield depth is what’s needed in the winter market, suggesting that Matt Grimes is being asked to do too much, Victor Torp can’t be relied on to play every game and that Josh Eccles isn’t quite up to standard.

“I quite frankly would absolutely love for Dan Neil to join us,” Deez told Football League World.

“He was fantastic for Sunderland last season, he’s obviously struggled to get into their team now that they’re in the Premier League and doing so well.

“Can’t imagine wages would be an issue, I don’t imagine he’s a top earner for them now, I don’t think he would’ve been in the Championship either.

“He plays a position that we absolutely need cover for; our midfield has been incredible all season, don’t get me wrong, but Torp loves getting injured and sick, picking up illnesses.

“Grimes has been our signing of the decade, but he is surely eventually going to have a dip in form, or just need a rest.

“He’s playing every game at the minute and he’s 30-years-old, three games a week, he needs quality back up.

“And as much as I like Eccles, and you want to support a local lad, he’s not quite at that level, is he?”

Deez also believes that there should be no issues with bringing Neil into the squad despite the rivalry that formed between Sunderland and Coventry last year through the play-offs.

“In terms of the players' feelings, I think they’re all professionals and I’d be very surprised and disappointed to hear if any of them were against signing Dan Neil, or if any of them were unhappy to be playing with him, things like this happen all the time,” he continued.

“Players join from rivals, players join from other top teams, players who you maybe have a checkered history with, obviously like when they beat us in the play-offs.

“It’s a squad full of adults, it’s a squad full of professionals, surely they would put any slight differences aside if it meant we could bring in somebody that could help us reach the Premier League.”

Coventry are aiming to earn promotion to the Premier League this season, and will have the honour of topping the table on Christmas day, with Lampard’s side clear of the likes of Middlesbrough and Preston North End.

Dan Neil signing would add some necessary cover for Coventry

Neil has been there and done that in regards to promotion, so adding that kind of experience could be quite useful for Lampard’s side.

Providing cover and competition for game time in midfield should also be a great asset to bring to the squad for the second half of the campaign.

His lack of game time in the Premier League is a bit of a concern just in terms of forward planning, as adding someone who isn’t quite good enough for the top flight could be a problem in the summer, provided they get over the line.

But the club can cross that possible bridge when they get to it, as their priority right now is on earning that top two spot, and Neil should help with that if they can sign him.