Derby County, Preston North End and Hull City face new issue in race to sign Brighton star | OneFootball

Tommy Watson's immediate future has been speculated in recent days

FC Porto are reportedly weighing up the decision to plot a January move for Tommy Watson of Brighton and Hove Albion in January amid interest from a trio of Championship clubs.

The 19-year-old is no stranger to the second tier of English football, having enjoyed a fine breakthrough season with Sunderland under Regis Le Bris last campaign in what was a dynamic and exciting side moulded together by the Frenchman.

This, ultimately, culminated in the teenager writing himself into the Black Cats and Championship play-off history books back in May, with his 94th-minute curling strike into the bottom corner ending the North East side's eight-year-long wait to return to the top flight after coming from behind to defeat Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.

Prior to such post-regular season antics for his boyhood club, Watson had already agreed to move to the AMEX Stadium after Sunderland and Brighton had agreed a deal worth £10m, with Fabian Hurzeler carefully managing the attacker's minutes since his well-documented move to Sussex.

Yet, whilst Albion have gained a reputation under the German and predecessors such as Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter for being extremely successful when it comes to nurturing homegrown talents and foreign exports, Watson may have to wait some time before he is a regular for the Seagulls, and his short-term whereabouts has already generated plenty of headlines in recent weeks.

FC Porto plot fresh Tommy Watson, Brighton agreement amid Championship interest

Since joining Brighton, Watson has been an unused substitute in two Premier League games against AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur after failing to feature in pre-season, with Hurzeler describing his predicament as an "adaptation process".

The winger's 124 minutes of first-team action for the Seagulls thus far have all come in the EFL Cup, as he netted his first goal for the club with a fine close-range effort against Oxford United in a 6-0 rout, before providing a hat-trick of assists in the third round success against Barnsley on September 23rd.

Ahead of Watson's maiden appearance for England's Under-21's against Kazakhstan last month, it was reported by Fabrizio Romano that the aforementioned Portuguese giants submitted an unsuccessful loan bid for his services, with Brighton feeling the youngster was still very much part of their plans for the season ahead.

It was recently claimed by Alan Nixon that scouts from Derby County and Hull City were in attendance at Oakwell alongside Preston North End boss, Paul Heckingbottom, to cast an eye on his performance should his current employers sanction a loan move in the winter window.

And, in a fresh development to this potential saga, Football Insider now report that Porto are also closely monitoring Watson's situation ahead of the turn of the year as they look to front the queue over the trio of Championship sides.

FC Porto and Championship interest could present Tommy Watson with a dilemma

Due to Porto's overall stature and history, it would be no surprise if Watson's head was turned immediately over a potential loan switch to the Estádio do Dragão.

However, with the 'Azuis e brancos' already having the services of ex-Norwich City ace Borja Sainz, William Gomes and Yann Karamoh at their disposal, it begs the question as to whether the youth international would receive the required gametime for his overall development.

That would almost certainly be the case at one of Hull, Derby and Preston though, with all three clubs having strong recent track records when it comes to striking temporary agreements for the services of high-profile talents.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes that a move to John Eustace's side in particular would benefit all parties.

"I think Derby would be a nice fit for him, because there's a lot of experienced players in that team," he said.

However, with Porto clearly looking to throw their hat into the ring again, it remains to be seen whether the Tigers, Rams and Lilywhites are able to compete.