Left for £0, value soared 14900%: SAFC fumbled gem with a "wand of a left foot" - opinion

Sunderland are competing to land a play-off spot in the third tier of English football this season and are currently sat sixth in the table.

The Black Cats have had a number of impressive performers in the team and one of them has been Stadium of Light academy graduate Dan Neil.

He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.86 in League One as he has produced three goals and seven assists in 33 games. The 20-year-old appears to have a bright future ahead of him, but not every talented player who passes through the youth set-up is able to make it work on Wearside.

One player who has gone on to enjoy a fine career after failing to burst through with Sunderland is Republic of Ireland international Conor Hourihane.

The central midfielder made his way through the youth ranks and played for the club’s reserves before joining Ipswich Town on a free transfer in 2010 – with Transfermarkt valuing him at £45k at the time of the move.

He eventually made his way to Barnsley in 2014 and that is where he started to make a name for himself in the Championship. Hourihane produced 31 goals and 48 assists in 134 matches for the Yorkshire-based outfit in the third and second-tier and this led to him signing for Midlands giants Aston Villa in January 2017.

In his first two campaigns for the Villans, the Irishman recorded an exceptional 18 goals and 14 assists in the Championship as he proved himself to be a superb player at that level, with teammate Jack Grealish – now of Manchester City – claiming he has a “wand of a left foot”.

By December 2019 of the second season, Transfermarkt valued Hourihane at a whopping £6.75m – the apex of his career. This is a sensational 14,900% increase on the £45k he was valued at upon leaving Sunderland nine years