£15m and £12.6m strikers sign, Tommy Watson stays - Sunderland dream team if transfer rumours are true

Time is ticking away during the winter transfer window with Sunderland and their rivals still looking at deals...

Régis Le Bris has said that Sunderland will replace if Tommy Watson if Brighton’s interest develops before the transfer deadline on Monday night.

The Premier League club saw a number of bids for the talented winger rejected on deadline day in the summer, and have revived their interest in the closing stages of the January window. Sources have indicated that a deal is at this stage considered unlikely, as there is a considerable gap in the respective valuations.

Sunderland’s position is complicated by the fact that Watson only has 18 months left on his current deal, and so they could be forced into a sale if talks on an extension do not progress. However, the club's view is thought to be that he has an important role to play between now and the end of the campaign and that a sale right now does not benefit the club unless the fee is huge. At the moment, that is not the case.

Le Bris hinted at that view when asked about Watson’s status on Friday, making clear that he is an important part of his plans. Sunderland were already hoping to make at least one attacking addition before the deadline even before Brighton’s interest in Watson was accounted for. While currently sidelined through injury, Watson is thought to be around ten days from making a return to full training.

"If Tommy did leave, we have to replace him,” Le Bris said. “We need two wingers on each flank, this is a better balance. Enzo can play here but only because we don't have others available at the moment. I think Tommy started a few games before his injury so he was a new player in our team, and he did well. But it's always the case that when a new player starts, it's a new challenge.

“When you have to play 10, 15 games it is a different dynamic and a different challenge. He has started very, very well but to be a starter for a long period - this is different. We weren't able to assess this fully because of the injury.

“But there is no doubt that he has very good potential and is a very good player. And he fits very well our style of play, we feed our wingers and support them in taking risks in 1-v-1 situations. If they fail, we say, 'try again'. His profile is very good for this, but he has only played a few games.”

With that in mind and for a little bit of fun, we take a look at how Le Bris’ starting XI and subs bench if the recent transfer rumours turn out to be true: