"£20 million" - Sunderland valuation claim made ahead of fresh Brighton transfer saga | OneFootball

FLW's Black Cats fan pundit has given his verdict on Tommy Watson's potential sale to the Seagulls this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

FLW's Sunderland fan pundit has placed a price tag of around £20 million on young winger Tommy Watson, amid new reports that Brighton & Hove Albion are set to bid a lower fee in the summer than they did in the January window just gone, which was thought to be between £8.5m and £13m.

Watson has made a real breakthrough at the Stadium of Light this term, after being a standout in the Sunderland academy in recent seasons, and he has won suitors from a host of top clubs due to his good form at senior level and potential to get even better.

The 18-year-old made his professional debut for the club in April last year and has been even more influential this season as the Black Cats chase promotion. He picked up a knee and ankle injury in December that have kept him sidelined – though he returned to the matchday squad in the 2-1 defeat to Leeds United on Monday.

He was the subject of reported transfer interest from Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Scottish giants Rangers last year, prior to his breakthrough at first-team level. The Seagulls reignited their chase for him in January with concrete bids sent to Sunderland, and look set to go back in for his services when the season finishes with a year left on his current contract.

Sunderland fan pundit issues Tommy Watson price tag verdict amid Brighton interest

Watson had bagged two goals in 11 games in both league and cup before his injury at the back end of last year ruled him out for over two months and had just begun to nail down a starting place in Regis Le Bris' side before he was sidelined.

It was that form that prompted Brighton to offer Sunderland a reported fee of around £8.5 million plus add-ons for the 18-year-old's services in the dying embers of the winter window, which was rejected due to the Black Cats being unable to find a replacement in time.

Other reports indicated the bid was around £13m with Simon Adingra heading the other way, which was still thought to be below Sunderland's valuation.

With Watson now injured and facing a potentially tough task getting back into the starting XI, as well as with one-year left on his current contract and Sunderland's promotion hopes uncertain as they sit fourth in the second tier, Alan Nixon has stated that the Seagulls are set to return in the summer with a lower bid than what they initially put forward last month.

Our Black Cats fan pundit, Jordan Newcombe, does not think the club will accept anything lower than what has already been offered and believes that it would take around £20 million to prise Watson from Wearside in the summer, despite his contract situation and regardless of Sunderland's league status heading into 2025/26.

“The last time I mentioned Tommy Watson, there was uproar. Personally, £8.5 million guaranteed, with the rest in add-ons, I don’t think Sunderland would go for it," Jordan told FLW.

“They didn’t even go with the £13 million to begin with (in January). This is one of the reasons why I also previously said that we should have taken the £13 million then and moved on.

“Looking at £8.5 million, I think now it gives Sunderland the chance to make it more of what they wanted previously in January.

“I know they wanted a bit more from that if the Brighton winger (Adingra) couldn’t agree the loan, if they did then they would have gone with the £13 million as stated.

“With Adingra not actually wanting to come to Sunderland, they wanted more for Watson.

“I’m not too sure how much we’d want for him. Personally, my thoughts might possibly change on the price tag at the end of the season, depending on what happens and how he carries on.

“The issue is, when it comes to Sunderland at times, in my personal opinion, is that after an injury we tend to lose the ability in some of the players.

“We saw it with Dennis Cirkin. Immediately after he came back from his injury, he wasn’t the best, but then he grafted hard and managed to come back from it.

“Hopefully that’s the case with Watson as well. Hopefully, this injury hasn’t knocked the Watson we saw beforehand. If it has, then we don’t know how well he could play.

“He could be one hit on the ankle away from another serious injury. This is why I’m always cautious when it comes to injured players because they might not be the same player they were before the injury.

“So, a price tag, I’m not too sure. He will only have a year left on the deal that he’s got in the summer.

“It’s more down to Brighton because if they are going to offer less than £8.5 million, they will want to slap the add-ons in there which will probably make it up to about £13 to £15 million.

“But, with Sunderland wanting more, if it’s a permanent deal then they’re probably going to want £20 million plus.

“In my opinion, I’d wait and see until next season and see what happens.

“See how he performs in the second half of this season after his injury, because we don’t want our players to keep getting injured, and we don’t want them to have a forceful return.

“For now, I’m going to say (he is worth) possibly about £20 million. That is for now. At the end of the season, it could be £25 million plus. That’s my opinion.

“When it comes to transfer prices, no one really knows how much players are worth. It all depends on how they play, how they can be utilised in the squad, and how they fit that specific team’s system.

“I’m going to say £20 million for now. For Brighton to even come in with (lower than £8.5 million) I think would be a bit embarrassing on their behalf. They should just leave it.

“If they want him they’ve got to offer more, and that’s from Sunderland’s point of view.

“I’d say £20 million for now, but other than that, wait until next season. See what happens and how he performs.”

Kristjaan Speakman has previously clarified Sunderland's Watson sale stance

While both Sunderland and Watson have seemingly moved on from Brighton's approaches, for now at least, the Seagulls are clearly not giving up on securing his services, but will likely have to offer a lot more than what has been proposed to stand any chance of signing him in the summer.

The 18-year-old has probably been helped by his injury, in some ways, as it has taken the pressure off him performing on the pitch at the centre of the media storm that was whipped up while he edged closer to the move to the south coast, and it will certainly not be as relevant when he does return to playing soon.

His future is still pretty unclear past the end of the campaign, however, but Black Cats director Kristjaan Speakman did move to offer some clarity on the situation earlier this month, with more details about the saga revealed, as well as an insinuation of the club's desire to keep him for the long-term.

"I think it would be really unfair to suggest that the player wanted to leave. 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," he told the Sunderland Echo.

"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 this morning 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.

"I’ve got no reservations on Tommy’s focus on Sunderland at all. Part of that is down to the character of the kid, and how he’s been brought up.

"Maybe if you had a different player, with a different personality profile, it would be different. But you’ve got to remember that players like Tommy have been here for longer than I’ve been here. They’re extremely well connected to what’s going on.”

"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."

Regardless of what may happen in the future, Watson is a Sunderland player in the present, and his main focus will be on helping his boyhood club back to the Premier League after so many years away.

The Black Cats will certainly want to keep him around for numerous seasons to come, but numerous factors will come into play this summer, such as if they have won promotion or not and the potential fee offered, which could well determine where he is playing his football in August.