Chris Rigg reacts as Tommy Watson issues emotional Sunderland AFC exit message | OneFootball

Chris Rigg is among those to have reacted to Tommy Watson's message after the Sunderland winger completed a move to Brighton and Hove Albion

Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg has reacted to a message from Tommy Watson following the confirmation of his switch to Brighton and Hove Albion, with the Premier League-bound attacker underlining his commitment to the remainder of the campaign.

Watson’s message comes after Sunderland agreed a deal to sell the young winger to Fabian Hurzeler’s outfit for a fee which could, according to reports, eventually rise in excess of £10 million, while the Black Cats have also secured a 20% sell-on clause from any future sale.

It has concluded an extensive transfer saga, which saw Brighton try to sign Watson in each of the previous two transfer windows.

However, Sunderland were fearful of losing Watson, who had just 18 months left on his contract, for a significantly discounted price of for nothing altogether, and with the prospect of renewal deemed unlikely, the promotion hopefuls have decided to broker a deal which means they will retain the teenager until the end of the season before he heads down south.

Watson has enjoyed a first-team breakthrough under Regis Le Bris, making 14 appearances and scoring twice.

The 18-year-old has missed a fair chunk of the season through injury but will be looking to play his part in Sunderland’s final seven matches ahead of the play-offs.

Tommy Watson’s message to Sunderland AFC supporters following Brighton switch

Watson has addressed Sunderland supporters in the wake of his switch to Brighton.

The Academy of Light graduate thanked the Black Cats faithful for their continued support and reaffirmed his commitment to helping the side in the end-of-season run-in before joining Hurzeler’s squad ahead of 2025/26.

Sunderland are pretty much guaranteed to finish the season inside the play-offs, and Watson is looking forward to the seven "huge games" remaining of the regular campaign.

In an Instagram post published yesterday evening, Watson wrote: "From the bottom of my heart, thank you! The support you’ve all shown me as I’ve come through the academy and broken into the first team has been amazing.

"Although the journeys not over yet, as the news of my move breaks I wanted to come on here and express a massive thank you to everyone along the way. We’ve still got one massive push till the end of the season and goals to achieve.

“I’ll give my all to the team to make sure we do everything we can to reach them. See all of you that are travelling Saturday [to West Bromwich Albion]. 7 huge games to go, to get this club back to where it belongs."

Chris Rigg reacts to Tommy Watson's Sunderland AFC message

Fellow Sunderland prodigy Chris Rigg is among those to have reacted to Watson's message.

The 17-year-old, who has also been the subject of significant transfer speculation in recent months, has made 35 appearances in the Championship this season, having graduated from the club's youth system alongside Watson.

Rigg kept it short and sweet when reacting to his teammate's impending departure, but clearly wishes him well for the next step of his career. The midfielder simply commented: "❤️", with the likes of Danny Graham and a host of Sunderland academy prospects also taking to the comments section on Watson's post.

Sunderland AFC have done well with Tommy Watson, Brighton transfer deal

Although Sunderland did not want to sell Watson, the deal was very much borne from necessity and the club still deserve credit for collecting an eventual eight-figure fee for an academy product, who will thus be declared as 100 percent profit, and who has made less than 20 senior appearances.

Watson is a real talent, of course, but fellow left-sided winger Romaine Mundle, albeit three years his senior, is widely deemed a better, more rounded player at this time and also shares a potentially glittering future, having long kept the Seagulls-bound attacker out of Le Bris’ side.

Watson’s precarious contractual situation meant a sale was always going to be on the cards if Sunderland failed to convince him to pen extended terms.

He’s a player who could be worth considerably more than Sunderland are poised to receive, and the Black Cats will have envisaged him as a core part of the long-term future on Wearside, but the outlay will also give Le Bris the opportunity to significantly bolster his squad heading into the following campaign.