Sunderland star hoping for Everton striker signing as talks he about pressures of Coventry City opener

Dan Neil 46 made appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats last season, including 39 in League One as the Wearsiders finally managed to gain promotion through the play-offs.

However, the England youth international’s game time was severely limited following Alex Neil’s appointment in February but has worked his way back into the fold, featuring heavily during pre-season.

When asked what it would mean to him if he started at the Stadium of Light this weekend in the Championship as a Sunderland player, Dan Neil said: “It would be unbelievable. Like I said the goal was always to get back to the Championship, so to then play for Sunderland in the Championship it would be a dream.

"We'll see what happens, it's another hard working week and we'll see what happens on Sunday.”

There is always pressure when you play for Sunderland. Never mind when you are from the area and graduate from the Academy of Light after supporting the club as a child. But does stepping up a level to the Championship bring with it added pressure?

“Yes and no,” Dan Neil ponders. “Yes, because we've just come up from League One. I know that some fans think that staying up would just be enough, but then I know there's a lot of fans that will expect a little bit more than that.

"When you play for a big club like Sunderland, there's always pressure. Whether you're in League One, Championship of Premier League. I think that's the best thing about it, what's the point if there's no pressure?

"That's what makes the wins unbelievable and the losses unbearable. That's just Sunderland and what you have to deal with if you want to play for a club this size.”

Sunderland have so far added several players to their ranks during the transfer window and also recently welcomed tied-down Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts.

Asked if he was pleased to see the duo commit their futures to Sunderland, Dan Neil said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. Obviously, they came in during January and by the end of the season, they were quite big personalities in the dressing room - a bit like the core of the dressing room.

"Pat has a lot of experience from his career, Danny Batth, people like that. I think it was important to get that core group of players together that got us promoted. A few additions on the side with Dan [Ballard] and Aji [Alese].

On Sunderland’s new signings, he added: “Obviously, Dan [Ballard] has been here for a bit longer now so he's a lot more settled. Aji [Alese] looks like he's enjoying it and he's been getting minutes in pre-season and is looking good. They've been looking good and settling in.

Question marks still remain over whether or not ex-loan star Nathan Broadhead will return to the club.

“I mean personally, I hope so,” Dan Neil said. “I haven't spoken to him in a while. I don't know we'll see what happens and see if he wants to come back or not.”