Ex-Sunderland ace pushing for first PL start at Wolves as troubles continue for Brighton man
Wolves vs Brighton in the Premier League at Molineux Stadium - Sunday 2pm
Tommy Watson has had to be patient for his chances since arriving at Brighton.
The talented young winger joined for around £10m from Sunderland but has yet to feature in the Premier League for Fabian Hurzeler's team.
His two outings so far arrived in the Carabao Cup as he netted from the substitutes bench the 6-0 win at Oxford United, Watson then claimed three assists as he started the third round cup clash at Barnsley - another 6-0 win.
The former Sunderland man operates best on the left flank but so far Kaoru Mitoma has that spot nailed down for Brighton.
Mitoma has started each Premier League match this season but the Japan star has not been performing at his best.
Mitoma has one goal and one assists so far and earlier this week head coach Fabian Hurzeler admitted the 28-year-old picked up a knock in the 3-1 win at Chelsea.
Mitoma has also decided not to travel to Japan during the international break for their upcoming friendlies against Paraguay and Brazil.
the Brighton flyer has proven himself as one of the top wingers in the Premier League but at the moment there is a strong case for Watson to get minutes in the top flight.
The 19-year-old was pictured in training this week ahead of the trip to Wolves but it's unclear as yet if he will be included.
Hurzeler has options. Yankuba Minteh can switch from the right flank to the left and Turkey international Ferdi Kadioglu can also play on either flank.
Hurzeler spoke at length on Mitoma ahead of the Sunday 2pm kick-off at Wolves.
Hurzeler: Mitoma’s form can change in an instant
“I think it will happen in one game and then hopefully everything changes a little bit like with Danny,” said the German head coach.
“There’s a not a different approach from our side.
“Of course, the players change. He played together with Pervis (Estupinan), now he has a different team-mate.
“I think that's different so you need to find the connection.
“That's why I always try to emphasise and say to the group and everyone how important are connections on the pitch, how important it is to rely on each other.”
Hurzeler has shown this season that he allows key players the minutes to play their way back into form. Carlos Baleba and Welbeck have both proved that.
Hurzeler added: “Everyone has incredibly high expectations of him, because sometimes he’s doing things nobody expects, that everyone asks: How is it possible?”
“But I also know that he has high expectations of himself. We all know and we all agree that he can play better, that he must have a bigger impact on our game, because he is a game-changer for us.
“Therefore, he needs to step out, he needs to take responsibility, work hard in every training session to get back to his shape. Then I am sure he can have an incredible impact on our game.”
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