Sunderland have secured an eight-figure fee for young winger Tommy Watson, but not all parties involved in his sale to Brighton have prevailed from the negotiations.
Days after Sunderland beat Millwall 1-0, unexpected transfer news was revealed by the club regarding youngster Tommy Watson.
The 18-year-old didn’t feature at the weekend for Regis Le Bris’ side and now Watson has completed a £10million move to Brighton.
Academy of Light graduate Watson will join the Seagulls at the end of the 2024/25 season after completing the Championship campaign with his boyhood club.
Watson has featured 14 times for the Black Cats this term, scoring twice, after his promotion from the Under-21s.
Sunderland AFC News discusses the three winners and three losers from the sale of Watson to Brighton.
Three winners in Tommy Watson’s transfer to Brighton
Kristjaan Speakman
On the face of the deal, Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman appears the obvious winner.
Sunderland have banked an initial £10million fee for the young winger, with the potential for £1m in add-ons, which is an impressive haul for an inexperienced talent.
| Key statistic | Tommy Watson for Sunderland this season |
| Games played | 14 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 0 |
Brighton had deadline day advances for Watson rebuffed in January. Given Watson’s Sunderland contract was set to expire in June 2026, with no indication of the youngster wanting to extend his stay on Wearside, the fee is an impressive one.
With Watson now staying to help Sunderland’s promotion push rather than departing mid-season, sporting director Speakman will leave the negotiation table very content.
Romaine Mundle
No teammate will rejoice in a colleague departing, but Watson’s sale bodes positively for left-winger Romaine Mundle.
Mundle has been in prolific form this season, with seven goal contributions in just 16 Championship starts for Sunderland, despite injury woes hampering his season. Watson stepped up in Mundle’s long-term absence before he fell injured himself, but Mundle now knows his starting spot is all but guaranteed.
The former Spurs youngster made headlines for the wrong reason after his Millwall penalty outburst. Yet if Mundle can rediscover his early season form throughout the run-in, his potent attacking play could propel Sunderland to play-off glory.
Milan Aleksic
Watson’s impending move to Brighton also opens the door for forgotten man Milan Aleksic.
Aleksic joined Sunderland last summer in a £3.1million deal from FC Radnicki 1923, but Le Bris has only offered the Serbian ace four Championship appearances in his debut season.
Sunderland fans have insisted Aleksic gets more minutes, and Le Bris has promised the creative midfielder will get a chance during the run-in. Watson’s departure leaves a talented whole in the Black Cats creative ranks which is one 19-year-old Aleksic, dubbed as ‘Messi-like’ by his national team coach, can fill.
Three losers in Sunderland’s sale of Tommy Watson
Regis Le Bris
In terms of immediate losers in the Watson deal, Le Bris’ squad has lost a useful component.
But, Le Bris has favoured Mundle over Watson this season and has made clear Mundle is his preferred choice to start on the left-wing following both their respective injury woes this term.
Le Bris said via the Northern Echo: “I hope we will have the luxury of Romaine being able to start at the beginning, and then Tommy available for the last few minutes. If we have both players available, then we can build things up like that, and that would be a good idea for us.”
Although Le Bris’ first choice of the two is Mundle, squad rotation and injury concerns can play a pivotal role during the play-offs. Le Bris has often hammered home how important “connection” is amongst the squad to the club, and the mid-season news with Watson does beg the question of how much is heart truly remains in the Black Cats’ promotion push.
Sunderland fans
Sunderland supporters love nothing more than ‘one of their own’ rising through the ranks and starring for the first-team.
Academy graduates Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson are two who’ve lived the dreams of so many fans on Wearside, both going on to make over 150 appearances for their boyhood clubs. Club legends such as Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson have both gone on to feature on the elite football stages with Sunderland supporters watching on proudly.
Whether Watson goes on to become a Premier League regular remains to be seen, but the Wearside faithful have been robbed of another chance to watch an academy ace’s rise.
The £10million fee will undoubtedly aid Sunderland in the transfer market, but that is inconsequential for supporters in comparison to watching one of their own thriving on the Stadium of Light turf.
Brighton
In the immediate, Brighton appear on the losing end of the Watson deal. Sunderland rightly stood firm on deadline day and as such the Seagulls now must wait until the summer to benefit from Watson’s services following his failed January move.
Brighton are notorious footballing talent spotters and have seen the raw potential Watson yields. However, an eight-figure fee for a young winger with just two goals in 17 senior appearances is an immense show of faith in an unproven product, who the Black Cats now get to keep for the run-in.
Taking Jack Clarke’s move to Ipswich as a comparison. The Tractor Boys shelled out an initial £15million fee for Clarke in August, after his standout 15-goal campaign for Sunderland last term.
However, he has failed to find the net in his 24 appearances for Kieran McKenna’s side to date, with many believing Clarke should’ve stayed at Sunderland for the season.
With Watson acres behind Clarke’s ability and rate of development, his move to Brighton could easily go the same way.
Is Tommy Watson a winner or loser in Brighton transfer
Only time will tell as to whether Watson will love up to the lofty expectations on the South Coast.
With £40million-rated Kaoru Mitoma, former Sunderland target Simon Adingra and ex-Newcastle ace Yankuba Minteh competing for the wide-forward roles in Fabian Hurzeler’s side, it could be a thankless task for the sometimes wasteful Watson to break into the Brighton first-team frame.
As such, a loan away from the Amex could be on the cards for the youngster next season. In light of Clarke’s disappointing move to Ipswich and with fortunes heading back in the right direction on Wearside, the grass may prove not to be greener away from Wearside for Watson.