Tommy Watson has only really burst onto the scene at Sunderland this season. Already though, the 18-year-old winger could be leaving the club.
Sunderland have pulled another gem of the academy production line in Tommy Watson. The Horden-born winger has become an important first-team player under Regis Le Bris this season, racking up 10 Championship appearances and scoring twice.
Soon after scoring his first Sunderland goals, Watson picked up an injury which has now kept him sidelined for the last several weeks.
Despite his inactivity though, Brighton are eyeing Watson. During the summer transfer window, Brighton had a bid rejected for Watson, but the Seagulls have clearly retained their interest.
Fabrizio Romano says that Brighton have submitted an initial bid for Watson who is now in the final 18 months of his contract at Sunderland.
During the summer transfer window, it was claimed that Brighton bid £2million to sign Watson which was obviously rejected.
Sunderland’s stance on Tommy Watson amid Brighton interest
An emerging report from The Northern Echo has revealed the latest on Watson’s situation. They write that Sunderland have knocked back Brighton’s latest offer, although Watson’s exit remains a possibility ahead of deadline day.
The same report adds that Brighton’s offer for Watson ‘has increased significantly since the summer’ but that the numbers still fall ‘way short’ of the Sunderland owners’ valuation of Watson, which remains unclear at this point.
Alarmingly, The Northern Echo add that because Watson is entering the final 18 months of his current contract, ‘there is an acceptance that a huge bid could be difficult to turn down’ this month.
How much Brighton are willing to pay for Tommy Watson just became clearer
Brighton are busy in the transfer market right now. They’ve just signed Derby County centre-back Eiran Cashin for a reported £9million, and that could be a good indicator of how much they value Watson at.
Cashin is also a player who Brighton have tracked for a long time. But the 23-year-old centre-back has bags more first-team experience than Watson, with 144 senior appearances for the Rams.
If Brighton have significantly upped their offer from their summer bid of £2million, and if the Seagulls have just spent £9million on Cashin, let’s assume that Brighton value Watson around the £4-5million mark.
It’s not an unfair price tag for a player with as little experience as Watson. But he’s got so much potential and just another season at Sunderland could see him become a £20million player.
Given the contract situation, however, Sunderland don’t have that much time.