Alex Neil stressed how much of a coup the arrival of Daniel Ballard was after the Arsenal defender penned a three-year-deal at the Stadium of Light last week. The signing of the 22-year-old Northern Ireland international will add some much needed depth at centre-half, as well as competition for places.
The Black Cats head coach was pleased with the arrival of the former Blackpool and Millwall loanee, but highlighted the battle they had to sign the centre-half. The fallout of Brexit means it's now much harder for clubs up and down the country to sign foreign players, with the likes of Teemu Pukki, an example of a player who would not be able to sign for a club in the Championship, like he did when signing for Norwich back in 2018.
Neil highlights, that as a result of Brexit, young British talent is at a premium and with a greater number of clubs now looking to sign domestic based talents. Sunderland pipped a number of Championship and European clubs to Ballard's signature and it's a positive start to the Wearsider's transfer window.
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"First and foremost, Daniel will add competition,” Neil told safc.com. “Callum’s [Doyle] loan deal ended in May and Arby [Arbenit Xhemajli] left the club, so we wanted to add in that area and Daniel fits into our structure of being a young, up and coming player who has Championship experience.
“He fits the bill and he also knows what it takes to win, sampling success with Blackpool in the Play-Offs before having a year under his belt [in the second tier] with Millwall last season. The new regulations make it extremely difficult to bring in players from the continent, so any young British talent is at a premium and naturally, club scouting networks are all aware of the same types of players.
“It then comes down to what your project looks like and what the club itself can provide – the fan base, our stadium, all of that is a massive selling point for us and it helps when we’re trying to attract players. He will bring some different qualities to our backline - he is mobile for a big lad and he is aggressive, so I’m really looking forward to working with him. We are really pleased to get this deal over the line.”
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