Hull City have joined two other Championship sides in monitoring the ongoing situation regarding Brighton Hove Albion winger Tommy Watson, with a potential loan move on the cards.
The Tigers are believed to be closely monitoring his future at the Seagulls, despite only joining the football club officially during the summer – just weeks shy of his play-off final heroics for Sunderland last season.
It has been a frustrating start to the campaign for Hull City and if things don’t change, they are likely to be switching attention quickly to the January transfer window for new recruits.
Hull join list of clubs eyeing Brighton’s Watson
As reported by journalist Alan Nixon, Hull City have joined two other Championship sides in keeping tabs on Brighton youngster Tommy Watson ahead of the January transfer window.
Fellow second-tier sides Derby County and Preston North End are also believed to have scouted the 19-year-old in recent weeks, especially following his impressive display during Brighton’s EFL Cup victory against League One side Barnsley.
It is currently unclear as to whether Brighton would be open to allowing Watson to depart on loan in January, but he would certainly have suiters should that option arrive on the table.
How did he fare last season?
After initially starting the campaign in the Premier League 2, Watson quickly rose through the ranks and into a first-team regular as Sunderland’s push for promotion continued.
He ended up scoring the most important goal in the clubs recent history, when his late strike confirmed Sunderland’s promotion back to the Premier League.
Across all competitions (first-team only) last season, Watson made 22 appearances for the Black Cats and contributed to three goals in the process.
Is it likely that he goes out?
Currently, Watson’s only first-team minutes for Brighton have been in the EFL Cup – suggesting that despite the impressive nature of his performances and his brace of assists against Barnsley, he isn’t as close to the main team as meets the eye.
Despite joining Brighton for £10 million, it is important to remember that Watson is still only 19 and has made less than 30 first-team appearances in his career.
Therefore, a loan move is always likely as he is guaranteed to learn more from playing regularly, than he will being reduced back to youth level.