How have the duo fared since leaving Sunderland earlier this summer?

With just a week left until the transfer window closes next Monday, Sunderland’s two highest profile departures of the summer remain Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson.

Both starlets played their part in the Black Cats’ long-awaited promotion back to the Premier League last season - with Watson in particular writing his name into Wearside lore with his stoppage time winner in May’s Championship play-off final at Wembley - and both have since sought fresh challenges elsewhere.

While the teenage winger is now on the books at Brighton and Hove Albion, Bellingham completed a big money switch to Borussia Dortmund - formerly the home of his elder brother, Jude - just prior to the FIFA Club World Cup in June.

But as both acclimatise to their new surroundings, how have they fared away from Sunderland thus far? We’ve taken a closer look below...

Jobe Bellingham

Bellingham’s Dortmund career started brightly - across four appearances at the Club World Cup, he registered a goal and an assist. But since the beginning of the domestic campaign, things haven’t entirely gone to plan for the midfielder.

First, he made a 26-minute cameo in a narrow DFB-Pokal first round victory over third-tier Rot-Weiss Essen, and then over the weekend, on his Bundesliga debut, he was hooked at half-time by new boss Niko Kovac.

Moreover, Sky Sports Germany report that in the aftermath of the eventual 3-3 draw against FC St. Pauli, Bellingham’s parents held a “lengthy and emotional discussion” with sporting director Sebastien Kehl after the final whistle. It is understood that the Bellinghams waited for Jobe near Dortmund’s dressing room after the final whistle, and that while this is not particularly unusual, the “surprise visit” from the teenager’s family “was not particularly well-received within the club”.

A subsequent statement from Kehl read: "We are all disappointed with yesterday's result. And yet, the active area is and remains reserved for players, coaches, and management, not families and advisors. That won't happen again. We have clearly informed everyone involved of this."

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Tommy Watson

As for Watson, the winger is yet to make his debut for Brighton, but head coach Fabian Hurzeler has suggested that he is currently going through an “adaptation process”, and that his first appearance in blue and white could come soon rather than later.

Speaking in a press conference prior to his side’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton over the weekend, as quoted by Sussex World, Hurzeler said: “He [Watson] is pushing, he's training. It's very important that he gets a whole training week without any modification, and then I'm sure that we will see him in the near future on the pitch.”

When asked if Watson could feature against Oxford United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, the German responded: "Maybe, maybe [Oxford]. Honestly, I don't know it yet. Maybe he's an option for Everton. Let's see the next few days.” Despite Hurzeler’s comments, Watson was not in the Seagulls’ squad against Everton on Sunday afternoon.

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