Sunderland are preparing for life back in the Sky Bet Championship under Alex Neil. 

Neil led Sunderland on a brilliant run of form during the final third of the League One season and then oversaw a victory over Wycombe Wanderers in the play-off final.

Goals from Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart at Wembley secured a 2-0 win for the Black Cats and a route back into the Championship.

Focus now is on recruitment, as Sunderland bid to make themselves as competitive as possible in the second tier.

A report from TEAMtalk has suggested that Neil is interested in signing Robbie Brady, amid uncertainty surrounding the 30-year-old’s future at AFC Bournemouth.

Here, we take a look at ONE potential winner and ONE potential loser if Sunderland get their hands on the Irishman:

Winner: Robbie Brady 

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Brady’s career with Burnley and then Bournemouth hasn’t been particularly standout. His next move, then, needs to be the right one.

Alex Neil is a manager that knows Brady well, having worked with him previously at Norwich City.

During the winger’s time at Carrow Road, he scored seven goals and registered six assists, playing in the Premier League. That was probably the last time we consistently saw Brady’s best levels.

We’ve seen that Neil was managed to help get Alex Pritchard’s career back on track at Sunderland, with the playmaker the Man of the Match in the play-off final win over Wycombe.

Pritchard was another that worked with Neil at Norwich before seeing his career drift.

If the Sunderland boss can work his magic on Brady, as he did Pritchard, the Irishman will be the ultimate winner.

Loser: Jack Clarke 

Soccer Football - Sunderland v Milton Keynes Dons - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - February 19, 2022 Milton Keynes Dons' Troy Parrott in action with Sunderland's Jack Clarke Action Images/Ed Sykes??EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative
Soccer Football - Sunderland v Milton Keynes Dons - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - February 19, 2022 Milton Keynes Dons' Troy Parrott in action with Sunderland's Jack Clarke Action Images/Ed Sykes??EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

Clarke thrived on loan with Sunderland last season, with a goal and three assists, including teeing up Patrick Roberts’ winner in the play-off semi-final.

The winger has struggled since making the move to Tottenham from Leeds United in 2019, with this loan at Sunderland the best we’ve seen of Clarke since then.

Brady signing would beg the question of what was next for Clarke and whether Sunderland look to bring him back in.

You’d like to think that Sunderland would still like to link back up with Clarke even if they sign Brady, yet it’s not crystal clear.

A move back to Sunderland would be the right one for Clarke, yet Brady potentially signing does give him something of a problem.

 

Quiz: Did these 15 former Sunderland players leave for a higher or lower fee than they arrived for?