da spicy bet： Duncan Watmore was a player who when he first broke through had the world at his feet.
da imperador bet： Kevin Phillips spoke highly of him and his sheer pace was enough to scare some of the best defenders in the Premier League.
In 2015, the former striker said: “In John Stones, Watmore was up against a defender that Chelsea were prepared to pay more than £35m for in the summer.”
He continued: “But Watmore caused Stones all kinds of problems, and was unlucky not to score at Goodison Park.”
However, his career, much like Sunderland as a football club has only plummeted.
Watmore was a talent who was tipped to go to the very top but after a succession of brutal injuries, has found life difficult.
In the last few years, the 26-year-old has had a wretched time with his fitness – predominantly because of a knee issue.
In 2016/17, he missed 36 games and 286 days of football but it went from bad to worse. The following season and into 2018/19, Watmore was absent for a period of 54 outings and 372 days.
He made his return in November but in March 2019, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ankle problem.
In total, the tricky attacker played just five times under Simon Grayson and didn’t get to play at all under Chris Coleman.
For Phil Parkinson and Jack Ross, meanwhile, he managed just 38 outings.
It has been a torrid time for the former Sunderland man and it was unsurprising that he was finally released last summer. With financial constraints and his medical history, it certainly made sense, but did Stewart Donald jump the gun too early?
Watmore has now signed for Middlesbrough and on Wednesday evening, he proved what an asset he still is. For Boro in the Championship, he scored twice in what was a ruthless display from a man who was once described as someone who “finishes expertly.”
He was rarely involved in the play against Swansea, touching the ball 14 times and completing just seven passes, but unlike Danny Graham when he’s anonymous, Watmore actually found the back of the net.
Scoring goals at the level above Sunderland should be an enormous kick in the teeth. After all, neither Graham nor Will Grigg have found the net at all this season.
Watmore is already outperforming them, and he is doing so in a better league.
The decision to release him might actually come back to bite Sunderland and their promotion hopes.
In other news, Will Grigg could transform himself if the Black Cats hire THIS manager…