Sunderland coach delivers Tom Watson verdict after first-team call-up and U21s progress

Sunderland’s under-21s boss Graeme Murty says the club need to manage Tom Watson’s development following the winger’s eye-catching performances this season.

The 17-year-old winger scored five goals and provided five assists in 15 Premier League 2 appearances during the 2023/24 campaign, with the young Black Cats reaching the final of the competition before losing 3-1 against Tottenham. Despite not scoring, Watson, who has made two appearances for Sunderland’s first team, impressed again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, up against Spurs right-back Nile John who was substituted in the second half.

When asked about Watson after the match, Murty told the Echo: “He is a talent and people are looking at him, and I’m not surprised they had to take their right-back off because he was getting the better of him on a regular basis. We need to make sure that he doesn’t get disheartened when that doesn’t turn into goals.

“We have to make sure we continue to develop him because he has some really, really good attributes but he’s not the finished article yet. There is still so much to come from him, and that for me is the best part of this job as a whole.

“We have barely scratched the surface of this group, there is more to come. My challenge and John’s (under-21s assistant coach John Hewitson) challenge is to make sure we give them whatever is next to make the next part available to them in their development and their growth.”