Football journalist Alan Nixon has taken to Twitter to claim that Burnley are still interested in signing Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil. 

The 20-year-old South Shields born playmaker recently signed a new contract with the Black Cats which is set to keep him at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2025, however this doesn't appear to have deterred the Clarets, who are said to still be keen on the youngster.

Neil is viewed as indispensable by the North East outfit and it would surely take a substantial bid for them to either consider cashing in on his services as they reach such a key stage of the campaign.

The midfielder has played his part in 30 games for Sunderland across all competitions this season and is widely viewed as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Burnley could therefore wait until the summer before making an approach for him, but at present it does appear highly unlikely that Neil could be tempted to leave the club which has given him so much.

The Verdict

Sunderland will know all too well that a player of Neil's talents is going to attract interest from clubs higher up the pyramid and that is something that they are going to have to learn to deal with.

He is bound to move on to bigger things one day but for the time being it is clear that he sees his future in the North East.

The fact that the club has the insurance policy of the player being tied to a new long term contract will certainly put their minds at ease.

If he did indeed move on it would certainly be for a lot of money as the Black Cats bid to make Neil a club stalwart for years to come after making such a big breakthrough this term.