Yes pretty please McKenna and co

Certainly has plenty of experience for a 24 year old,but he's another one who's decent at championship level, but not quite good enough in the premier league.
But I suppose we've got to get there first.

Shouldn't cost much, and very experienced at this level. Could be just what we need for second half of season. Would need some time to get fully match fit as not playing much this year

People shouldnt be put off by the fact that he hasnt been playing much at Sunderland this season, not many would get picked ahead of Granit Xhaka after all!
Sounds to me like a must, get him here and start developing him with KM

What type of midfielder is he? Cover for Matusiwa, or more of a creative sort?

Defensive midfielder highly rated by my sunderland mate says his nice and tidy player. Get deal done Town

He’d be the best signing for a while, in terms of what we lack. Energy, pressing, likes a tackle, good positioning, fingers crossed, would be a great addition I’m sure.

We are the worst in the league for tackles, about 60 off the next worst, and it’s not a product of dominating games, because we don’t. We seem to have lost our pressing intensity and ability to win the ball high up the pitch without Burns and Chaplin…, this won’t solve that, but will take pressure off Mats and add some qualities to CDM we lack in the group - bot the best quality, but might just be the best fit for a signing we’ve made in three windows.

And wish people would lay off Hirst - he grafts, works his socks off and is a very good finisher .., we don’t press, we don’t transition quickly, and we don’t get crosses in .., Phil and Clarke want to come inside and shoot.., not assist.

None of that is a strikers fault, it’s how we are coached.., he creates space for others to very good effect, and is twice the finisher Azon is, he just doesn’t have a Spanish romantic notion attached to him.

If we want to criticise our striker - it’s down to coaching, only nobody want to go there.., we haven’t had a prolific striker since league one against the likes of Forest Green .., even Delap had to mostly create his own chances.., that’s just how we play.

Phil sticking one in the far corner, Clarke the same, is a decent trick tbf.., you just wouldn’t want to be a striker, judged on goals, in this team.., hard graft.

Yeah, another out of contract player, right age, can play the Morsy role, of he can be picked up for a sniphe would be a very good signing. Was Sunderlands attain last year and as Bazza points out trying to shift one of the best Premier midfielders in Xhaka is purely a situation of bad luck for a talented young player. Think itcould be a case if Sunderlands loss for Ipswich's game if we are talking about pocket money to obtain him

Makes me laugh people think when we sign a player it's as cover for somebody..Matusiwa has had a excellent season so his place is nailed down but the attacking midfield is a area where we are weak and this where McKenna will look to strengthen.

Yes please. An excellent player who has been unlucky not to get more games in the Premier League after captaining Sunderland to promotion. Would do very well either as cover for Matusiwa or alongside him. In either role he'd stiffen our sometimes rather wobbly centre, and he'd provide the drive and leadership we've been lacking since Moray left.

Only 24 lots of experience, good record, what more is there to ask for. All amounts to a very shrewd signing in my opinion.

Perhaps been a bit negative about this potential signing. Right age. Experienced. Would certainly add to the squad ….


BUT we need a striker. That’s even more apparent after yesterday.

Hopefully " Welcome to Town, Dan" over the next 48 hrs then...fingers crossed

What about a number 9

Hope this comes off! people keeping banging on about a striker, this thread is about Dan Neil. Keep posts on topic, the club are aware of what we need!

Darkhorse28 " We xont dominate games"? What planet are you on? We dominate the majority of games we play. Only need to look at the stats to know that. Also love to know,where u get the stat about our tackling. No doubt a figment of ur imagination. While I agree with you about tge striker situation regarding the fact we dont feed our striker in the box, and have said to people more than once,that exact thing, I xant agree with you about Hirst. I very rarely criticise players but Hirst has in the main, been awful this season. Cant hold the ball up much of the time, the ball just bouncing off him,. And as for him being a good finisher? Dont know what games you've been watching. And no, none of those things are anything to do with coaching. Simply about ability I would never slag him off in the ground, as thats totally counterproductive, but fact is, hes nowhere near good enough.

With so many so-called supporters on Hirst's back, it's no surprise his form would drop off!
Please trust McKenna. He can see in Hirst what some cannot. Personally, I think Hirst is a decent player, doing what his Manager asks of him, which has given other players more scoring opportunities than they have given him.

If we don't sign a striker in this window then you can forget about promotion . It won't happen. It will be playoff misery at best.

Blues1: I dont know whats happened to Hirsts game. He rarely runs with the ball now, abd looks a shadow of the type of player ( see his performance re Barnsley away promotion yr), and hes not often in the box to receive crosses. The ball does bounce off him a lot, and whilst he does so much donkey work work up front that always goes unnoticed, you have to ask what McKenna actually wants from a number 9 , and what is the focus of his coaching of Hirst?

Linkboy, yes I agree, but I would point to Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene as an example of using the squad effectively and not starting both. We simply need two quality versions of everybody, and who is to say we won't play both occasionally with a deeper 10?
Matusiwa, as we know, is a walking yellow card, it would be great to have quality options in there.

He would be excellent alongside Mati in the double pivot role. Our other midfield players have tried and largely failed to adapt. He is a leader, great tackler, good positional sense and tidy on the ball. Defo in the starting 11 by my reckoning.

Bluesissy ,tell me where they are then ,everyone is looking for a striker name one that is available

Guess this tells Chaplin and Humphreys that their futures are elsewhere!

If we want something from the Mackems I think it'll be better for MA and KM to learn from Le Bris on how he identifies potential players and the data that Sunderland uses!

oldeslworthyfan, GH should thank his lucky stars he's not Kasey McAteer! the guy gets abuse even when he isn't playing. I watched something last night and " fans " were moaning about McAteer and he didn't even play! I guess he's an easy target with the price tag, which was nothing to do with him, acting like a bullseye on his back.