Sunderland AFC: Brighton's fresh Tommy Watson summer transfer stance becomes clearer | OneFootball

Brighton's interest in Sunderland winger Tommy Watson has not cooled following a number of failed late attempts in the winter window

Brighton and Hove Albion are set to retain their interest in Sunderland’s Tommy Watson come the summer transfer window, but will eye the winger at a lower cost after failing to bring him to the south coast last month.

That’s according to a recent update from joirnalist Alan Nixon, who has reported Brighton’s intent to acquire Watson on the cheap via Patreon.

The 18-year-old has stepped up to Regis Le Bris’ first-team this season, scoring twice from ten appearances following the summer departure of star winger Jack Clarke to Ipswich Town.

Watson scored his first senior goals in a 2-1 victory over Stoke but picked up a serious knee injury just days later against Bristol City, which has kept him sidelined for more than two months.

Sunderland have coped in the absences of both Watson and fellow young wide-man Romaine Mundle, though.

French midfielder Enzo Le Fee has been a revelation since joining on loan from Roma, even playing in a less-conventional wide-left role, and Le Bris’ side will now be looking to edge closer to the automatic spots in tomorrow evening’s crunch showdown against second-placed Leeds United, having accumulated a ten-match unbeaten run in the Championship.

Brighton's ongoing transfer interest in Sunderland's Tommy Watson

Watson was the subject of intense transfer speculation last month, with Brighton making a number of unsuccessful bids for his signature.

Sunderland were unable to source a potential replacement for Watson, which meant they had to rebuff the Seagulls’ advances.

It is said that one of Brighton’s offers was worth £8.5 million plus add-ons, although the top-flight side are unlikely to return with a similar proposal in the summer. Separately, Fabrizio Romano also reported a £13 million offer from Brighton, which was rejected.

As per Nixon’s report, Brighton are set to offer less money for Watson, with the Seagulls’ transfer team seemingly lining up a “small number”.

The exact valuation of this is not yet clear, but Brighton reportedly believe they stand a better chance at landing Watson in the summer as opposed to the January window, where deals are typically difficult to broker and Sunderland stood firm to retain their prized assets for the promotion run-in.

Sunderland may need to achieve Premier League promotion to retain Tommy Watson amid Brighton transfer interest

It’s a similar case to the likes of Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham in that the outcome of Sunderland’s bid to gain a first promotion back to the Premier League in eight years could just dictate whether Watson remains on Wearside.

Those two both have long-standing, well-documented interest from a number of domestic and continental top-flight outfits, having each been among the finest midfielders in the second-tier this term.

Watson has not yet emulated such a body of work but he could have a significant impact in Sunderland’s push for automatic promotion once he returns from injury.

The young winger is an outstanding talent with bags of potential and it’s little surprise he’s earned Premier League interest - promotion to the same division may be the Black Cats’ sole chance of fending it off for another window.