West Ham & Wolves handed transfer blow as Southampton close in on ex-Sunderland star | OneFootball

Southampton are advancing in talks for Dan Neil, ahead of West Ham and Wolves

West Ham United have a lot of business to do to get their squad ready ahead of their first Championship game since the 2012 play-off final.

Their midfield may need some major retooling. Portuguese international Mateus Fernandes looks increasingly likely to be parting ways with the London Stadium-based club, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United among the elite teams linked with the £80-million-rated man.

Additionally, though, the status of Tomas Soucek is unknown after he was stretchered off following a nasty-looking non-contact injury in Czechia's final group stage game of the World Cup against Mexico.

The Hammers are interested in adding to their engine room with former promotion-winning captain Dan Neil, who is set to become a free agent later this month at the end of his Sunderland contract, per Ben Jacobs, but an update from elsewhere indicates that they're going to be pipped to the post by a fellow Championship side.

Southampton advance in talks for departing Sunderland player Dan Neil

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Indeed, Sky Sports' north-east reporter, Keith Downie, has revealed that it's Southampton who are in advanced talks with Neil over a permanent move back to the Championship this summer, moving ahead of both West Ham and Wolves in the race for his signature.

With the Saints fielding significant transfer interest from Leeds United for Shea Charles, rejecting an opening bid of £20 million on Monday, the likelihood is that there'll be more bids in the coming weeks, meaning there'll be a demand for a new midfielder at St Mary's.

On a free transfer, there arguably won't be a better value-for-money deal in the middle of the park this summer than Neil.

The 24-year-old had been with the Black Cats for 18 years before last January's loan switch to Ipswich Town, coming through their academy and making 201 senior appearances in a Sunderland shirt.

Neil was nearly ever-present for Regis Le Bris' side in their promotion campaign during the 2024/25 term, starting in all but two league outings, as well as each of the play-off semi-final legs and the final at Wembley against Sheffield United, all as captain.

He was one of the many victims of the Sunderland squad overhaul ahead of the Premier League campaign, though, as the Black Cats added the likes of Granit Xhaka, Habib Diarra and Noah Sidiki to their engine room, and Neil was left to ride the bench for the first half of the campaign.

Upon his move to Ipswich in January, Sunderland announced he'd be leaving in the summer. At Portman Road, he played a supporting role in helping the Tractor Boys over the line and back into the top flight, starting eight and coming off the bench eight times, too.

Ben Jacobs outlined that West Ham weren't alone in the pursuit of Neil, stating that Scottish giants Rangers and newly promoted Premier League side Hull City were in the race, too.

It seems like the Championship will be Neil's destination this summer, but to the dismay of West Ham, the 24-year-old may be choosing the south coast rather than East London.

How Southampton fans are reacting to fresh Dan Neil update

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A lot of people felt that Neil was dealt a difficult hand by Sunderland last summer. The 24-year-old was integral to their promotion into the Premier League, but hardly got a chance to prove his worth amongst England's elite.

Neil played just 13 minutes of top-flight football before the Ipswich switch, where he proved once again that he can play a good role in a promotion-winning club.

There won't be many better top-end Championship midfielders on offer for nothing this summer, and at 24, Neil still has plenty of room to grow and improve. Therefore, this one seems to have the seal of approval from the Southampton fanbase.

In response to the news being revealed on the SaintsExtra page on X, Saints fans congregated in the replies.

"Selling Charles for £25 million + and getting Neil is great business," one wrote. "Oh my God, what a signing, another said.

"That's ideal, isn't it? Great business," and "Great transfer, that," were also among the replies.

Evidently, Southampton fans are quite excited about the prospect of having Neil come and play for them for free, especially if they're going to receive around £25 million for Charles during the same window.

Plus, getting him ahead of some fellow pre-season promotion contenders will lay down a strong marker that, despite a four-point deduction to start the season, Tonda Eckert's side still has that pull to attract players who will want to be battling right at the top.