With Watford preparing for their final home game of the Sky Bet Championship season against Sunderland on Saturday (April 27, 3pm KO), we’ve taken a look at five players who have turned out for both the Hornets and the Black Cats.
Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips started his professional career at Vicarage Road, signing in December 1994 after impressing at non-league Baldock Town following a release from Southampton at youth level.
The striker would go on to make 65 appearances in two-and-a-half seasons for the club, scoring 25 goals before leaving for Sunderland in the summer of 1997.
Phillips became a Black Cats legend with 130 goals in 235 appearances, including 30 in the 1999/00 Premier League campaign which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to earn this accolade.
Luke O'Nien
Born in Hemel Hempstead, Luke O'Nien joined the Watford Academy as an Under-9, and signed his first professional contract in July 2013.
He was involved in several matchday squads during the 2013/14 campaign, and made his only appearance for the club off the bench against Barnsley in March 2014 before being released in the summer of 2015.
The midfielder joined Sunderland in 2018 after a spell with Wycombe Wanderers, and has since become a key player and fan favourite. He has made over 250 appearances for the Black Cats to date, captaining the side on several occasions.
Alec Chamberlain
Alec Chamberlain joined the Black Cats before the start of the 1993/94 campaign and spent three seasons in the north-east.
He was a part of the side that earned promotion to the Premiership in 1995/96, but left at the end of the season to join the Hornets, who had recently been relegated to the third tier.
Chamberlain became a much-loved figure at the club, winning Player of the Season twice. The goalkeeper was a key figure in the promotion-winning teams of 1997/98 and 1998/99, and became one of the oldest-ever Premier League players when subbed on before his retirement in May 2007.
Wilf Rostron
Another iconic Watford player who signed from the Black Cats, Wilf Rostron joined Sunderland in 1977 after failing to break through at Arsenal.
Born in Sunderland, he played at his hometown club for two seasons before signing for Graham Taylor's Watford, then in Divison Two, for a fee of around £150,000 in October 1979.
He played an integral part in the 1981/82 promotion as Watford reached the top flight and then won consecutive Player of the Season awards in the First Division campaigns of 1982/83 and 1983/84. He made over 400 total appearances for the club before leaving in 1989.
Will Buckley
Will Buckley jumped two divisions to join the Hornets in the Championship from Rochdale, then top of League Two, in January 2010. Suffering from injury, he had to wait until March for his debut, and April for his first goal.
His injury troubles continued into the 2010/11 season, scoring four goals in 33 appearances before Brighton and Hove Albion broke their transfer record to sign the forward in the summer for £1 million.
Buckley got his first taste of Premier League football when he joined Sunderland in 2014, moving for a fee of £2.5 million. However, more injuries and several loan spells limited him to just 22 appearances for the Black Cats before his release in 2017.
