How Watson went from outcast to Sunderland promotion hero

Few people turning up at Wembley for the Championship play-off final would have had Sunderland's Tommy Watson down as the match-winner.

Even less so after scanning through the team list in the official programme, with his name was not even on it.

The anomaly comes from the fact the 19-year-old signed for Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion last month in a £10m deal, with Watson completing the move in the summer.

His place in the top flight was assured regardless of what happened in the final, unlike that of his boyhood team.

But, having come on as a 73rd-minute substitute, Watson's low curling effort in the fifth minute of added time secured a dramatic, unforgettable comeback win over Sheffield United - and wrote a glorious chapter in Sunderland's history to end their eight-year top-flight exile.

What is also remarkable is that in the first home game at the Stadium of Light last month after the move was announced, Watson was booed by some fans in light of his pending switch to the south coast.

Former Black Cats striker Marco Gabbiadini described that response as "brainless", but there is no doubt Watson has had the last laugh in a way nobody will ever forget.

In his 22nd and final game for the club and with only his third goal - the two others came against Stoke City in December - the teenager delivered in the grandest manner.

For head coach Regis Le Bris, the key thing was the squad had no issue with Watson still being involved in these crucial last few weeks.

"It was probably a tough decision for him, but it was clear in our mind and his mind that he was still a player of Sunderland," said the Frenchman.

"The group, the squad accepted this decision as well, knowing that he is a good player and that he can help and we don't know what can happen and he had his opportunity this afternoon."

Watson admitted the end of the season has been difficult, but he delivered a champagne moment that will be remembered for a lifetime.

"After the last few weeks, I've been dreaming of that moment," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I'm really happy that it's going to end positively and this monster of a club is back where it belongs.

"It's been tough, but I've learned so much from it. I knew something like that could happen. So I'm just buzzing."

Watson is the latest of a string of graduates from the club's Academy of Light to make the first team, with Dan Neil, Anthony Patterson and Chris Rigg all in the starting XI.

Famous alumni include England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who was in the crowd to watch his hometown club win promotion.

That production line has been a successful one for Sunderland, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman at the forefront of pushing a youthful approach.

Before the final, he said promotion would vindicate the model that Sunderland had chosen in trying to regain their top-flight place.

And while Watson's goal will not change his own departure, it may have ensured that players, including Rigg, Neil and Jobe Bellingham, can shine in the Premier League with Sunderland and not elsewhere.