Kristjaan Speakman sets record straight on Tommy Watson transfer saga and outlines next steps for winger

Kristjaan Speakman says he has no reservations about Tommy Watson’s commitment to Sunderland’s promotion push and that the club will continue to explore the possibility of extending the winger’s contract.

Watson was again the subject of numerous bids from Brighton & Hove Albion in the latter stages of the January transfer window, after the Premier League club had made a number of bids on deadline day last summer. Sunderland’s sporting director said that the two clubs never came to agreement on a fee despite some reports on deadline day that this was the case.

He added that Watson, while open to the possibility of the move, was content with Sunderland’s stance. The pair spoke on Thursday morning and the 18-year-old stressed his commitment to trying to help the Black Cats win promotion in the closing months of the season. Watson is expected to return to training in around a week after a knee and foot injury.

While an agreement on a new deal is at this stage considered unlikely, it hasn’t been ruled out. Brighton could revisit the move in the summer transfer window but Speakman says the ongoing speculation is ‘absolutely not a problem’ for the youngster. The pair spoke on Thursday morning and Speakman is confident he is ready for the challenge ahead on Wearside.

“I think it would be really unfair to suggest that the player wanted to leave,” Speakman said.

“Tommy is like a number of young players that we’ve got, where they’re on the up, they’re highly-rated and ambitious, which we want them to be, and then they get presented with an opportunity. Ultimately, Tommy didn’t have a decision to make because there wasn’t an agreement between the clubs. If the clubs had agreed, he would have had a decision to make, and you could understand why he would choose to stay, but you could also understand why he might decide to leave. That would be based on his views. But we never got to that point, so it was never really an issue. I think Tommy is such a level-headed kid that it’s absolutely not a problem. He’s Sunderland through and through, but he’s also ambitious and wants to get promoted and play in the Premier League with Sunderland. I’ve spoken to him this morning and he’s the usual Tommy Watson – he wants to get back fit and wants to get back to the Stadium of Light, scoring goals.

“I’ve got no reservations on Tommy’s focus on Sunderland at all. Part of that is down to the character of the kid, and how he’s been brought up. Maybe if you had a different player, with a different personality profile, it would be different. But you’ve got to remember that players like Tommy have been here for longer than I’ve been here. They’re extremely well connected to what’s going on.”

Watson’s contractual situation means that Sunderland could effectively be forced into considering a sale at some stage but Speakman says it wasn’t a risk to turn down the significant bids on the table from Brighton - with the potential prize of Premier League promotion far outweighing the financial boost the club would have received. When fit, the Black Cats believe Watson could be key.

“I don’t think it was a risk,” Speakman said.

“Tommy’s got a year left on his contract. At the minute, he’s fully committed to what we’re doing, and there’ll obviously be ongoing conversations about whether he can extend that or whether there’s going to be a moment where a club is able to agree a fee with us. We’re just focused on the short term at the minute, trying to make sure that the team is as cohesive as possible. We have to try to navigate these remaining 16 games in the best possible way, and Tommy can have a massive impact on that for us.”

Speakman also confirmed that the club were not prepared to sanction Watson’s departure without securing a replacement. Sunderland were open to recruiting Brighton’s Simon Adingra, while a bid was also made for Leicester City’s Kasey McAteer.

“Over the last season, Tommy’s worked himself to be one of two wide-left options in our squad,” Speakman said.

“There’s him and Romaine, you can’t let one of those players leave without finding a suitable replacement. That’s part of our thinking. There’s a trading element within the business of football, which is, ‘If you’re going to trade this player, what other opportunities does that present for you as a club?’ We look at all those things within it, and that’s ultimately part of the decision-making process as to whether you an accept an offer or not, and whether at a specific moment, you think that offer is the right value to enable you to do something else, or whether you want to hold to a future window. We’re really comfortable from a club perspective, and I think the player is really comfortable too because he recognises how good an opportunity Sunderland is at the minute, and he’s fully committed.”

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