Duncan Watmore already possesses a first-class honours degree in economics and business management but Sam Allardyce has now challenged him to acquire a “masters in Premier League football”.
The England Under-21 forward, who signed a new four-year contract with Sunderland last weekend, is expected to begin on the bench when Stoke City visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
His manager has identified the challenge of swapping such substitute status for a regular starting position as part of a two-fold test confronting the 21-year-old. Although Watmore may take time to translate his undeniable potential into end product, Allardyce trusts he will avoid the off-field temptations currently threatening to derail Jack Grealish’s career at Aston Villa.
Even so Sunderland’s manager winced, visibly, when Jermain Defoe recently told television reporters that Watmore – who, so far, has started only one Premier League game – reminded him of the young Gareth Bale.
“You have to be capable of pushing away those distractions,” said Allardyce. Happily, he has every reason to believe a modest, mature young man, ably guided by his father Ian, the former Football Association chief executive, will retain the desired focus.
“Duncan and, particularly, his old man seem to be very good people, very level-headed, so I hope that type of situation won’t happen,” said Sunderland’s manager. “His dad, hopefully, wouldn’t let Duncan get too above his station, or too cocky or too arrogant too quickly.
“When you start getting all the headlines you can tend to go the wrong way instead of the right way, which is where you have to become more dedicated. You have to get rid of all the distractions, which is very difficult for a young man when you’ve got a few bob in your pocket and everyone wants a bit of your attention.
“We just seem to see so many youngsters go off the rails a little bit. They’ve got to learn that you cannot stop learning, you cannot stop improving just because you’ve made it to first-team level at 20 or 21. It’s about how long you can extend your Premier League career.”
Allardyce is confident Watmore has a better chance of flourishing in the medium- to long-term than many. “He’s got great attributes,” he said. “His ability to receive the ball and his energy, his capabilities of beating a player and then getting away from them is the exciting thing. Some players can beat an opposition player quite easily but they cannot get away from them because of lack of pace but Duncan’s so sharp he seems to be able to get round them and then get away from them.”
Not that a player released by Manchester United as a boy before starring for non-league Altrincham is remotely in the Bale class right now.
“There’s too much talk about Duncan Watmore at the moment but now he’s finished studying for his degree he can focus on trying to achieve a masters degree in Premier League football,” said Allardyce. “If you play in the Premier League it equates to a masters in terms of academic qualification. You play in the Premier League because of your football intelligence more than anything else.
“Duncan’s an exciting prospect. He’s not the finished article, but I certainly hope he makes a big impact this season and continues to learn and progress as quickly as his physical and technical stats seem to suggest he’s capable of.
“If he can get that brain engaged in terms of football knowledge and then use those abilities with that football knowledge, he will make a big impact on the team – and perhaps as early as this season.
“Can he provide the end product he provides in the under-21s for England and our under-21s at Sunderland? Can he provide that end product in the Premier League? If he can start doing that, then he starts playing regularly.”
