Fabrizio Romano has revealed a surprise twist on former Sunderland talent Tommy Watson after his £10million move to Brighton
Fabrizio Romano has shared a surprise update on former Sunderland academy star Tommy Watson, just months after his £10million summer move to Brighton & Hove Albion.
According to the transfer insider, Portuguese giants Porto made a late enquiry about Watson’s availability during the final stages of the transfer window, but were told he has a big part to play at Brighton this season. Watson has been called up to the England under-21 squad following an impressive start to life on the south coast.
Romano’s tweet read: “Brighton talent Tommy Watson has been called up into England U21s after summer with bids rejected. Porto enquired late in the window about his availability, but feels he has a big part to play at Brighton.”
It marks another rapid milestone in the 18-year-old’s development after his breakthrough at Sunderland, where he rose through the academy ranks having joined the club at eight years old. Watson made his senior debut for Sunderland in April 2023 against Huddersfield Town before signing a new three-year deal later that year, despite suffering a back injury that restricted his appearances early in the 2023-24 campaign. He went on to announce himself properly with a brace against Stoke City in December 2024.
His defining moment came on 24 May 2025, when Watson came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner in Sunderland’s Championship play-off final against Sheffield United, completing a dramatic 2-1 comeback at Wembley and securing the club’s return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Watson completed his £10million switch to Brighton shortly after, signing a four-year deal until June 2029. He scored on his debut for the Seagulls, coming off the bench to net in a 6-0 EFL Cup victory over Oxford United, and has already established himself as one of the most exciting young English forwards in the country.
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In other transfer news, Alan Browne has completed a season-long loan move to Middlesbrough and says the chance to be closer to home and help a “massive club” fight for Premier League promotion was too good to turn down.
The 30-year-old midfielder departs Sunderland after making 23 appearances last season, playing his part as the Black Cats secured promotion back to the top flight. But with opportunities expected to be limited under Régis Le Bris this season.
Browne says the move to Teesside made sense for a number of reasons. Speaking to the club’s media team after signing, Browne admitted his first emotion was relief: “Yeah, probably relief more than anything,” he said when asked for his initial reaction to joining Middlesbrough.
Browne explained why the move felt right for him at this stage of his career: “Well, I think for obvious reasons. It's close to home where I am at the moment. I've got a young family, so that was always going to make the move easy and it's a massive club.
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“It's a Premier League club if we're being honest and that's what I'm going to try to help get the club back to. They've made an amazing start so far, some good individual players. I had a brief chat with the manager who talked me into it as well.” Browne admitted he has been keeping up with Middlesbrough’s early-season form: “I watch the highlights every weekend, but I didn't get a chance to watch a full game. Hopefully that'll come.”
The Republic of Ireland international, who spent a decade at Preston North End before joining Sunderland last summer, says that experience shaped his entire career: “Oh, it was brilliant. I went from a boy to a man basically. It was life-changing for me at the time and I just grew as a person and a player throughout my years there and gained a lot of experience, which hopefully I can bring to the fort this club.”
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