Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has leapt to Tommy Watson’s defence, insisting the winger wasn’t pushing for a transfer deadline day move to Brighton. A deal for the player was blocked at the last minute after Sunderland were unable to source a replacement.
Watson was the subject of a umber of bids from Brighton in the lead up to the deadline, but the Premier League club failed to get to a fee that Sunderland were happy with. Equally, the Black Cats looked to bring in another left-winger, but couldn’t agree deals for Brighton’s Simon Adringa or Leicester City’s Kasey McAteer.
Watson was reported to have travelled down to Brighton as he looked to complete the switch before Monday’s 11pm deadlline. However, Speakman says the player wasn’t pushing for an exit and is happy to still be on Wearside for the club’s promotion charge.
“I think it would be really unfair to suggest that the player wanted to leave,” said Sunderland’s sporting director told the Northern Echo. “Tommy is like a number of young players that we’ve got, where they’re on the up, they’re highly-rated and ambitious, which we want them to be, and then they get presented with an opportunity.
“Ultimately, Tommy didn’t have a decision to make because there wasn’t an agreement between the clubs. If the clubs had agreed, he would have had a decision to make, and you could understand why he would choose to stay, but you could also understand why he might decide to leave. That would be based on his views. But we never got to that point, so it was never really an issue.
“I think Tommy is such a level-headed kid that it’s absolutely not a problem. He’s Sunderland through and through, but he’s also ambitious and wants to get promoted and play in the Premier League with Sunderland.
“I’ve spoken to him and he’s the usual Tommy Watson – he wants to get back fit and wants to get back to the Stadium of Light, scoring goals.”
The 18-year-old has emerged as a key player for Regis Le Bris’ side this season, with his direct and dazzling displays on the left wing adding an extra dimension to their attacking play before he was hit by ankle and knee injuries. However, Watson only has 18 months left on his contract and with a deal in excess of £10million believed to have been on the table, it was an offer Sunderland had to consider.
Ultimately, they decided against completing the transfer. Speakman insists it’s not a gamble and hopes a new contract can be agreed with Watson, who he says is fully committed in the short term to Sunderland. However, he has not ruled out cashing in on the player in the summer.
“I don’t think it was a risk,” Speakman said. “Tommy’s got a year left on his contract. At the minute, he’s fully committed to what we’re doing, and there’ll obviously be ongoing conversations about whether he can extend that or whether there’s going to be a moment where a club is able to agree a fee with us.
“Over the last season, Tommy’s worked himself to be one of two wide-left options in our squad,” he said. “There’s him and Romaine (Mundle), you can’t let one of those players leave without finding a suitable replacement.
“That’s part of our thinking. There’s a trading element within the business of football, which is, ‘If you’re going to trade this player, what other opportunities does that present for you as a club?’
“We look at all those things within it, and that’s ultimately part of the decision-making process as to whether you an accept an offer or not, and whether at a specific moment, you think that offer is the right value to enable you to do something else, or whether you want to hold to a future window.
“We’re really comfortable from a club perspective, and I think the player is really comfortable too because he recognises how good an opportunity Sunderland is at the minute, and he’s fully committed.”
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