The transfer models Alex Neil worked with at Norwich and Preston - and what Sunderland fans can learn from them

This will be Neil’s first window in charge of the Black Cats, who only have 14 contracted players ahead of the 2022/23 Championship campaign.

The club’s recruitment team – including sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and recruitment chief Stuart Harvey – have already been assessing targets ahead of June 10.

And while the onus won’t be purely on Neil to identify potential signings, he will also play a key role in the recruitment process.

It’s therefore worth looking back at how the Sunderland boss has fared during previous transfer windows in England with former clubs Norwich and Preston:

Signings players with experience of the league

While most of the signings made under Neil at both Norwich and Preston were under the age of 30, the Scottish boss, particularly with the Canaries, has often looked to sign players with experience of the league his side are competing in.

In Neil’s first summer transfer window at Norwich, following their promotion to the Premier League, the Canaries spent money on Robbie Brady from Hull and Graham Dorrans from West Brom.

Youssouf Mulumbu joined on a free transfer, while Matt Jarvis arrived on loan from West Ham. All four players had already played in the top flight.

When Norwich were relegated back to the Championship, their biggest signing in the summer of 2016 was a 23-year-old Alex Pritchard, who cost a reported £8million and had played regularly in the second tier for Brentford.

Spending money on potential

At Preston there was evidently less money to spend, yet, like at Norwich, the transfer budget was predominantly spent on players under the age of 28 who could improve at the club - with some making a step up to play in the Championship.

Preston’s links with Cork City saw them buy Sean Maguire and Kevin O’Connor, then 23 and 22 respectively, from the Irish club in 2017.

And while the latter made just nine appearances for North End, the latter has made 149 in England’s second tier.

With resources seemingly stretched further the following campaign, Preston brought in defender Jordan Storey and midfielder Ryan Ledson, both 20 at the time, from lower-league sides Exeter and Oxford the following summer.

Ledson has gone on to make 98 Championship appearances for The Lillywhites, while Storey has racked up 85 games in the second-tier and impressed on loan at Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Of course not all the players who have been signed under Neil have been a success, as is the case at most clubs.

Forward Graham Burke, signed aged 24, made just 12 appearances for Preston after joining the club from Shamrock Rovers for a six-figure sum in 2018.

The Lilywhites’ most expensive signing ahead of the 2019/20 season was 20-year-old midfielder Tom Bayliss, who reportedly cost close to £2million, yet, while there is still time for the player to be a success, he has made just 21 appearances for Preston in three years.

Using the loan market

Back at Sunderland, the Black Cats’ use of the loan market will be important for the 2022/23 season, with Nathan Broadhead, Jack Clarke and Callum Doyle all playing significant parts in the Black Cats’ promotion from League One.

Neil was more reliant on loan signings during his time at Preston, yet Stephy Mavididi (from Arsenal) and Andre Green (from Aston Villa) struggled to make the desired impact.

Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker fared better when they arrived on loan from Manchester City at the start of the 2018/19 campaign, with the former scoring three goals and providing seven assists in 41 Championship appearances.

Preston also made several loan signings in the 2021 January transfer window, with the likes of Anthony Gordon (from Everton), Sepp van den Berg (from Liverpool) and goalkeeper Daniel Iversen (from Leicester) arriving at Deepdale on loan.

Neil left the club a few months later, though.

A few signings from abroad

While both Preston and Norwich predominately signed players from English clubs while Neil was in charge, they did make a few moves abroad.

In Neil’s first full season at Norwich, the Canaries spent a reported £14million to bring in defensive duo Timm Klose and Ivo Pinto from Wolfsburg and Dinamo Zagreb respectively in January.

While neither were able to help keep the club in the Premier League, both became first-team regulars at Carrow Road and made over 90 appearances for the club.

More was probably expected of striker Nelson Oliveira, who signed for Norwich for a reported £6million fee following the club’s relegation from the Premier League, with the Portuguese striker scoring 20 goals in 70 appearances for the Canaries.

At Preston, the signings made under Neil were far more domestic, though the Lillywhites did spend over £1million on forward Emil Riis from Danish side Randers FC in the summer of 2020.

Now 23, the forward enjoyed a fine second season at Deepdale, after Neil had moved on, scoring 16 Championship goals during the 2021/22 campaign.

Conclusions

As previously mentioned, it’s hard to know exactly how much influence Neil had on the recruitment processes at his former clubs, though you would imagine he had a strong say on the players coming in.

Looking at some of the aforementioned signings, it shows that Neil is used to working with a restricted budget in the Championship at Preston, while he is also used to working with younger players and helping them improve.

That aligns with the approach Sunderland adopted last summer, as the Black Cats lowered the age of their squad considerably.

Still, it’s worth noting Neil also used the free agent market to bring in more experienced players, such as goalkeeper Michael McGovern at Norwich, as well as striker David Nugent at Preston.

The Black Cats boss will know a balance has to be struck between youth and experience.