Tommy Watson expected to go on loan again after Brighton and Millwall spells | OneFootball

Tommy Watson is expected to go on loan again this summer, most likely to the Championship. Sunderland Echo understands Brighton want the 20-year-old to gain regular first-team minutes. The priority is a club offering sustained starts.

Watson’s 2025-26 was stop-start. He made 10 Brighton appearances and scored on debut in a 6-0 EFL Cup win over Oxford United, then joined Millwall in February to reunite with Alex Neil and added 12 outings.

Brighton still rate him after signing him from Sunderland in 2025 for around £10 million on a long-term deal. The sense is he now needs a full season of games, with fierce competition at the Amex that could intensify. Kaoru Mitoma has 12 months left, Ibrahim Osman impressed and Diego Gomez offers another left-sided option.

Horden-born, Watson rose through Sunderland’s academy and debuted in April 2023, signing a new three-year deal that September despite an early-season back injury.

He broke through in 2024-25, scoring his first league goals in a 2-1 win over Stoke City. Brighton agreed a move in April 2025, confirmed before he officially joined at the start of June.

He then delivered a Wembley finale, coming off the bench to hit the stoppage-time winner in the play-off final against Sheffield United, sealing a 2-1 comeback and promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

Internationally, he has played for England across the age groups, debuting for the under-21s in September 2025 and earning an under-20s call-up during his Millwall spell.

Source: Sunderland Echo