The dilemmas facing Alex Neil after Sunderland’s 2-0 win v Wycombe Wanderers

Sunderland fans and players alike are on cloud nine right now after securing promotion to the Championship on Saturday afternoon at Wembley.

The Black Cats contested the League One play-off final against Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers, where goals either side of half-time from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart secured the Wearsiders’ passage back to the second tier of English football.

It was a result which capped off a fantastic few months for Alex Neil, who was brought in to replace Lee Johnson in February, with the Scot able to steady the ship and lost just one match from the beginning of his tenure.

The summer is an important one for Sunderland though as they look to put together a squad capable of finishing as high as they can in the Championship – let’s look at some dilemmas that Neil will be facing going into the summer.

Dan Neil’s future

In the first half of the 2021-22 season, Dan Neil proved himself to be one of the best young English talents outside of the Premier League after being given a chance finally by Lee Johnson.

It did appear though that the 20-year-old was suffering from a bit of burnout around the January and February period, and since his namesake in the dugout arrived as Johnson’s replacement, D. Neil started just two matches and did not take part in the play-offs at all.

Alex Neil may believe that the youngster is dispensable, even though he’s showed high promise, and with a number of Premier League teams, including Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur, interested in his signature, it will be interesting to see if he is cashed in on.

Fresh contract for Patrick Roberts?

Eyebrows were raised a little bit in January when Sunderland secured the signature of Patrick Roberts – a player who promised so