NafisaSunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman did something on deadline day of the summer transfer window which now looks genius.
Speakman has been criticised on numerous occasions for some of his transfer decisions but Black Cats fans must also give credit where it is due.
Especially on deadline day, the busiest time of the year, the player market is extremely difficult to navigate.
But Speakman appears to have done a solid job of that this season as Regis Le Bris is working with a ‘special’ squad.
Brighton made Deadline Day move for Tommy Watson
Everyone thinks of the transfer window as the time to sign players but selling them – or not – is at least equally important.
Sunderland sold Jack Clarke to Ipswich Town on deadline day so it was imperative not to lose any more key players.
Although Tommy Watson did not fit that description at the time, he has gone on to become one of the first names on Le Bris’ team sheets lately.
And he could have easily left in the summer when Brighton made multiple offers to sign the 18-year-old winger. But Speakman turned down offers of up to £2 million for Watson.
This looked like a bold decision at the time because that’s a lot of money for a non-first-team player but he’s worth at least triple that now.
Kristjaan Speakman made the right decision
Speakman wouldn’t have known that Watson would score both goals in Sunderland’s 2-1 Championship victory over Stoke City.
However, he clearly believed in the youngster’s potential to have a significant impact on the senior side this season.
Watson has certainly done that in Romaine Mundle’s absence, so much so that he could keep his place when the ex-Tottenham man returns from injury.
If he can keep this ‘excellent’ form up for weeks, months and years to come, Speakman’s decision not to accept £2m could go down in history.
Nafisa
