Sunderland starlet Tommy Watson was poised to join Brighton on deadline day. Now, he’s not.
Deadline day came around and for Sunderland, there was a couple of major stories. Though arguably the biggest story was that of Tommy Watson to Brighton.
Brighton had made multiple bids for Watson and the winger was on his way down south to seal the deal, ahead of a reported £8.5million deal with add-ons.
In return, Sunderland wanted Simon Adingra from Brighton on loan for the remainder of the season, and it looked like progress was being made on both ends.
But for Fabrizio Romano now saying the deal is off.
Tommy Watson transfer from Sunderland to Brighton is off
Romano has revealed on X that Sunderland have turned down a £13million deal for Watson and that the 18-year-old’s big money move to Brighton is now ‘off’.
The Italian journalist then goes on to add that Sunderland were in talks for Adingra, but that deal is also off the table now. Romano posted on X…
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Sunderland may have missed a trick here
Watson is set to see his Sunderland contract expire in 2026. Next summer he’ll be in the last year of his contract at the Stadium of Light and so a £13million sale to Brighton right now seemed like it made a lot of sense.
Sunderland turning down the deal seems strange. What fans will make of it remains to be seen but it sounded like a good deal for such an inexperienced player, especially if they could’ve got someone on loan in return.
For Watson, it’s been an eventful day. He must now reset his focus on Sunderland and on making his return to action.