Mowbray could replace Dan Neil with “monstrous” talent

Sunderland made a surprising charge into the play-offs last season following their promotion from League One and a similar narrative is unfolding this time.

With six victories from their opening 11 matches, the Black Cats are purring at the prospect of promotion, although north east rivals Middlesbrough did hand them a 4-0 stuffing last time out.

A humiliating defeat against a rival is undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow, but the biggest disappointment was the red card brandished to Dan Neil in the first half, handing Boro the initiative in the contest.

Ahead of their trip to Stoke, Tony Mowbray will be without the suspended midfielder and that has dealt them a significant blow.

How has Dan Neil performed this season?

Neil is the enforcer in Sunderland’s midfield and has demonstrated that through his abundance of technical attributes, demanding the ball from his defence and spraying passes short and long.

A forward-thinker in possession and a key cog in Mowbray’s fast-paced attacking football, there aren’t many others, if any, who can dictate the tempo of a match quite like him in the division.

According to FBref, Neil is one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the Championship this term, ranking in the top 1% against his positional peers for progressive passes, top 4% for passes into the final third, top 11% for pass completion and top 25% for assists.

As demonstrated by the above statistics, the 21-year-old is in the upper echelon of players who take a risk in possession, rarely going for a simple pass to ensure that every action he makes is done with a purpose.

Compared to Michael Carrick by talkSPORT’s Neil Danter for how he dictates a football previously, there are other parts to Neil’s game that don’t go unnoticed, and his exceptional ball-carrying is one of them.

He places within the 4% for successful take-ons, the top 16% for progressive carries and the top 13% for carries into the final third.

Praised by former Black Cats ace Stephen Elliott for “having everything you’d want in a central midfielder”, Neil has also showcased that his importance stands up against his Sunderland peers.

His average Sofascore rating of 7.23 is the fourth highest in the Mowbrays squad this season, behind only Pierre Ekwah, Bradley Dack and Jack Clarke, the former of which could be in line to replace him against Stoke after recovering from his injury.

Will Ekwah feature against Stoke?

Since Ekwah sustained an injury in the 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers in September, Sunderland have missed the Frenchman’s robust and aggressive nature of his performances in midfield.

Fortunately, he is in contention to return this weekend, with the Sunderland Echo reporting that he was back in training over the international break.

Lauded by journalist Phil Smith as “monstrous”, the 21-year-old has operated in a deeper role this term, sweeping up possession in front of his backline and allowing Neil to have a greater creative influence going forward.

The pair have formed a strong partnership at the heart of Sunderland’s midfield and started each of their opening six Championship fixtures as Ekwah began to showcase his prominence as a tackling machine, averaging 1.3 interceptions, 1.7 tackles and 7.3 balls recovered per game, as per Sofascore.

With the 6 foot 2 midfielder displaying the physical attributes and stature that have been so desperately missed by Mowbray, the veteran manager could throw him straight back into the team against Stoke in place of Neil.