Sunderland fans would have been worried this transfer window that a number of their best players would be poached by higher-up suitors.
Thankfully for the Black Cats, it hasn’t quite played out like that with the likes of Jobe Bellingham set to remain situated at Wearside until the close of the campaign, but young homegrown product Tommy Watson could now be on the move to the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion.
That potential switch is far from being done, however, with Regis Le Bris’ men now wanting a Seagulls star in exchange for allowing the 18-year-old starlet to move to the South Coast.
Latest Sunderland transfer news
As per an update by Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope, Sunderland will only allow for Watson to head to the top flight if they can secure a deal for Brighton winger Simon Adingra to relocate to the Stadium of Light.
Already, Brighton have seen an £8.5m bid be rejected by Le Bris’ outfit, with the promotion hopefuls wanting to pick up Adingra on a loan-to-buy deal to then sanction this switch.
This does feel rather far-fetched, but Sunderland have flexed their muscles in the market already this window with the shock swoop of Enzo Le Fee, with this potential deal again seeing them land a significant coup.
If Adingra was to drop down to the Championship, he would likely tear second-tier defences to shreds based on his bright patches of form in the Premier League and could end up being Sunderland’s best option down the left wing since Jack Clarke’s unbelievable spell at the club.
What Adingra could offer Sunderland
After all, whilst Clarke has struggled at the elite level this campaign for Ipswich Town, the Ivorian has managed to toy with many a top-flight defence since joining the Seagulls.
Indeed, the “explosive” attacker – as he has been labelled in the past by football analyst Ben Mattinson – boasts an impressive 12 strikes for his current employers from 59 clashes, with six of those coming during his debut Premier League season as skills and tricks aplenty were on show.
Whilst Adingra continues to impress at the very top of the English game, Clarke has faded into the background somewhat at Portman Road since his summer arrival, with zero league goals next to his name and just two assists.
This really shows the major gulf in quality between the Premier League and the division below as Clarke picked up a standout 15 strikes last season for the Black Cats, meaning Adingra could make the second tier his very own playground on his potential statement arrival.
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Brighton
59
12
4
Union Saint-Gilloise
51
15
15
FC Nordsjaelland
40
12
4
The table above more than demonstrates the fact that Adingra has been a rip-roaring success wherever he’s been so far across his well-travelled playing days, with a stunning 46 goals and assists next to his name starring in Belgium and Denmark alerting Brighton.
Therefore, he would unlikely be fazed by a switch to Wearside occurring with Sunderland seriously improving their attacking options if this move was to get done, especially with Jayden Danns all but guaranteed now to join on loan as another exciting recruit.
If this was finalised before the 11pm deadline, Sunderland would arguably be the big winners of the window in the Championship, even if Watson packs his bags.
Bringing Adingra and Danns into the fold would certainly be a real boost for the remainder of the season…
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