Sunderland fans will be seething with Tommy Watson amid staggeringly arrogant Brighton claim
Tommy Watson has made an eye-catching claim that will infuriate Sunderland fans after his move to Brighton in the summer.
The former Mackems winger agreed a £10million deal to join the Seagulls shortly before the end of the 2024-25 campaign, with the move eventually going through at the start of the summer transfer window.
Watson netted a stoppage-time winner for Sunderland in their victory over Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final, as he immortalised himself by scoring the goal that ended their eight-year exile from the top flight.
The 19-year-old wrote his name into club folklore at the Stadium of Light, but his legacy may now be tarnished somewhat by a striking claim that he has just made.
Tommy Watson to annoy Sunderland fans with ‘higher level’ claim
Watson’s magic moment has been immortalised at Sunderland with a mural at their ground, commemorating what has been the crowning moment of the homegrown talent’s career so far.
He moved on to his new club with the blessing of almost every Wearsider when his departure went through a matter of months ago, but feelings towards him may now be about to sour.
The wideman made his first Premier League appearance of the season with a brief cameo role in his side’s 4-2 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday, and took a bizarre swipe at Sunderland after the game.
“I would be getting minutes at Sunderland,” Watson told the Sussex Express.
“But I personally think the level of the group is higher here (at Brighton). This system suits my game more, and I think this environment is set up for me to go and kick on and prove myself.”
It seems a strange stance from Watson to have taken an unnecessary swipe at his boyhood club, where he has still been almost universally loved, despite his brief spell in the first team.
The Black Cats faithful are well within their rights to be seething with his statements, and would surely point towards the fact that they are currently five points better off than Brighton as a way of biting back at his claim.
Tommy Watson wrong to assume he would get minutes for the Mackems
Watson showed during his time at Sunderland that he is a hugely promising young talent, but his suggestion that he would essentially have been guaranteed minutes if he had stayed is somewhat wide of the mark.
The likes of Simon Adingra and Bertrand Traore have both made bright starts on Wearside, while Chemsdine Talbi netted his first goal in the win over Chelsea at the weekend.
It is unfair to suggest that Watson would have been totally on the fringes of the squad, but with the likes of Eliezer Mayenda struggling for starts and Romaine Mundle out injured, he would have been far from the first choice on the flanks.
The essence of Watson’s argument is probably true to some extent, but it is completely baffling for him to have aimed a dig at his former club in that manner, and the arrogance of the suggestion that he would walk into their side is also staggering.
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