The stand-out Sunderland and Brighton players to have featured for both clubs
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From a goal machine in Red and White, to the scorer of one of the most dramatic play-off final goals in history, and a man supposedly good enough to play for Real Madrid - Sunderland and Brighton have shared some memorable players over the years.
And ahead of this weekend’s clash between the Black Cats and the Seagulls at the Stadium of Light, we have taken a look at some of the stand-out players that have played for both clubs over the years.
Danny Welbeck
Highly-rated young Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck arrived on Wearside on loan from the Red Devils in the summer of 2010, where he impressed under then-boss Steve Bruce and scored six goals as Sunderland finished tenth in the Premier League.
Welbeck returned to Old Trafford in 2011 and spent three more years with the club before securing a £16m move to Arsenal. After five years at the Emirates, he spent 14 months at Watford before moving on to Brighton in October 2020. Now 35, he has made 192 appearances for the South Coast club in all competitions and scored 48 goals.
Darren Bent
Former Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic striker Darren Bent made a major impact when he joined Sunderland from Spurs in what was then a club record £16.5m deal in 2009. He scored 36 goals in just 63 games for the club, with that kind of form enough to earn him an England recall.
But there was disappointment on Wearside when Bent handed in a transfer request in January 2011 to force through a move to Aston Villa. He was unable to recapture the same form with Villa, and he went on to spend loan spells with Fulham, Brighton, and Derby, before joining the Rams on a permanent basis in the summer of 2015, and then finally ending his career at Burton Albion.
His spell at Brighton was brief - lasting just a month in November-December 2014 - and he scored two Championship goals in five outings for the club.
Tommy Watson
Watson wrote his name into Sunderland folklore last May as the academy product scored the late winner which saw the Black Cats defeat Sheffield United in the play-off final at Wembley and earn promotion to the Premier League.
Watson’s summer move to Brighton had been confirmed the previous month which led to a souring of his relationship with the Sunderland fans, although that play-off goal meant all was forgiven. Watson has made just ten appearances for the Seagulls - only one of which was a start - and his sole goal for the club came in the League Cup.
It was no surprise, then, that he was allowed to join Championship play-off contenders Millwall on loan in January. Still only 19 years old, Watson has time on his side to prove he can succeed in the top flight with Brighton.
Liam Bridcutt
While in charge at Brighton, Gus Poyet said: “If I was coach of Real Madrid, I would take him [Bridcutt] because he deserves to go to the highest level.” Poyet never made it to the Bernabeu but he did take over at Sunderland in late 2013, so it was no surprise that when he did, he brought Bridcutt with him in a £2.5m deal a couple of months later.
Bridcutt made a memorable debut for the Lads, putting in an impressive display at the heart of the midfield in a 3-0 away win over rivals Newcastle. But Bridcutt failed to maintain those standards and he ended up playing only 36 times for the club before joining Leeds United in the summer of 2016 following a loan spell the previous season.
In a career that also included stints at Yeovil, Stockport, Watford, Nottingham Forest, Lincoln City, and Blackpool, it was his three-and-a-half years at Brighton that provided the best of times for Bridcutt, who made more than 150 appearances for the club and scored two goals. Bridcutt, who was twice capped by Scotland, is now a coach at Gateshead.
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Jason Steele
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2017, former Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Steele was one of a raft of players signed that summer.
It turned out to be a bad season for goalkeepers on Wearside, however, with multiple mistakes leading to Steele losing his place to fellow new recruit Robin Ruiter, who proved just as accident-prone and in turn lost his place to Lee Camp - who was no better than what had gone before. So it was a surprise when Brighton offered Steele a Premier League lifeline at the end of the season, and he remains at the Amex Stadium - now as a backup option - having made 63 appearances for the club.
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