Tom Watson a Rangers transfer 'target' as Sunderland wonderkid contract gridlock opens door to cross border bargain

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Rangers are reportedly lining up a move for Sunderland sensation Tom Watson as they look to take advantage of the cross-border loophole to sign the youngster in a cut-price compensation deal.The teenager made his Black Cats first team debut towards the end of the English Championship season back in April but he is in the final year of his deal at the Stadium of Light and has yet to sign a professional contract.The Daily Mail report that "talks are said to have been slow and have frustrated the player and his camp” and name Rangers as one of a number of clubs who are interested in signing the 17-year-old England youth international.

The advantage Rangers have is that they wouldn’t have to pay as much as English clubs to land the player by using the same rule used to sign the likes of Joe Aribo and rivals Celtic exploited to land Moussa Dembele from Fulham.

Watson, a left winger who can also play as a striker and scored 13 times for the Under-18s last season, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the Sunderland first team and former Celtic manager Tony Mowbray explained his decision to throw him on against Huddersfield last season.

He said: “I just look at the assets of footballers, really.“I don’t know loads and loads about him, but I’ve seen him play in a few U21s games and he’s trained with us a few times.