Despite signing a new contract, Sunderland face Nottingham Forest’s interest in young starlet

The Black Cats youngster has recently signed a new deal with the club

Sunderland will face a test to hang on to promising young talent Tom Watson, with Nottingham Forest weighing up a move for the winger.

The Sun report that they have been monitoring his progress for some time, and could be set for a January bid. Watson’s value is on the up, with Forest potentially having to cough up at least £500,000 to land the winger, who has been capped five times for England Under-17s, scoring once.

Watson made his only appearance for Tony Mowbray’s first team to date at the end of last season, coming off the bench in the late stages of the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town at the Stadium of Light.

Whether Sunderland would be willing to sell, however, is another matter. Speaking earlier this month about the club’s youth talent, Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman was delighted Watson, along with the likes of Zak Johnson, Matty Young and Chris Rigg had committed their futures to the club.

He said: “They’ve seen a football club which is going to give them an opportunity and they feel it’s the right place to be and all those young players have the opportunity to go to a number of other football clubs but they decided to stay here. I think that just shows how powerful the project is.”