Sunderland players who should benefit under Alex Neil - based on his time at Norwich and Preston

Neil, 40, has predominantly managed in the Championship during spells with Norwich and Preston – when he has often set his sides up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

While there will be lots of work to get through, we’ve taken a look at some of the players who could benefit from the appointment:

Alex Pritchard

The Sunderland playmaker had looked set to join Brighton in the summer of 2016, yet Norwich, managed by Neil, came in with a late offer.

Pritchard was well known to Neil after scoring for Brentford during a 2-1 win over Norwich in Neil’s first defeat as the Canaries’ boss.

That impressive performance is said to have stuck with Neil, and prompted Norwich to pay a reported £8million on the player.

When asked about his new boss upon his arrival at Carrow Road, Pritchard said: “He’s been good, obviously speaks highly of me and is a great manager.”

The move to Norwich was mixed for Pritchard, who had to wait for his opportunity due to the form of fans’ favourite Wes Hoolahan.

Still, the playmaker was arguably Sunderland’s top performer over the Christmas period and it’s likely he’ll have a big role to play under Neil.

Jack Clarke

While there were some heavy defeats, Sunderland were building a reputation as a young, attacking side under Lee Johnson.

That will have undoubtedly been appealing for players such as Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts, who both joined the club last month.

The pair must have been wondering what they had signed up for when Johnson was sacked within days of their arrivals, yet Neil’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system should suit the two widemen.

When we spoke to Preston reporter Dave Seddon at The Lancashire Evening Post, he described North End as ‘aggressive pressing, with plenty of movement up front’ during Neil’s first season at Deepdale.

That would particularly suit Clarke, who has shown flashes of his ability in a handful of appearances for Sunderland so far.

Clarke, 21, broke into the Leeds United team under Marcelo Bielsa, with the Whites playing a high-octane and offensive brand of football.

Preston were also said to be interested in the winger when Neil was in charge.

Dennis Cirkin

Sunderland are short of options at full-back so Cirkin is likely to be an important player for the remainder of the campaign.

When speaking about his Preston side’s evolution midway through the 2019/20 season, Neil spoke about wanting his team to play more while encouraging his full-backs to push forward.

The Scot didn’t believe he had the right personnel to do that during his first season at Deepdale, so instead focused on making the team harder to beat.

Still, Preston's full-backs played a key part under Neil, with right-back Darnell Fisher registering 11 Championship assists during his three full seasons under Neil.

Cirkin is also a player who possesses bags of energy, who likes to get forward and deliver crosses into the box.

It has the makings of a good fit for the 19-year-old defender.

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