AS Jordan Pickford answered questions inside the mixed zone at Vicarage Road on Sunday afternoon, a younger team-mate had to wait patiently behind him waiting for his turn.

Rees Greenwood was, understandably, more than willing to wait to talk. Even if he was not familiar in such surroundings, the teenager had just made his debut in the Premier League; the smile said it all.

He might have travelled to a couple of games with the first team squad before and mixed it with Jermain Defoe and the rest of Sam Allardyce’s squad on the training field at the Academy of Light, but actually pulling up his socks and putting on the red and white No 37 shirt was different.

Greenwood was a Premier League player, and didn’t look out of place in the 52 minutes he had on the pitch against Watford down the left flank, where he linked with fellow debutant and Under-21s team-mate Tommy Robson.

Having achieved the next step in his rise to fulfilling his dream of becoming a top-flight performer on a regular basis, Greenwood’s aim is to stay in Allardyce’s thinking over the summer and beyond.

“I would like to think I can stay in and around the first team picture next season, but that’s not up to me,” said Greenwood. “I have been given the pre-season stuff, so it’s looking good, but we will see.

“It has been my best season so far, I am really pleased with what I have done in the games for the Under-21s and we had a good season at that level. I just want to get better and better as next season goes on and reach the highest level I can reach in my career.

“It’s been great having Robbie Stockdale and Paul Bracewell (Sunderland coaches) around the first team as well because I have had them with me from the Under-18s and then the Under-21s, so to have them in the dressing room with me has helped. They talk to us all the time and tell you what expect, trying to keep you right.”

Greenwood does not turn 20 until December, which is two years younger than Pickford who has every chance of pushing Vito Mannone for a starting role in Allardyce’s team next season. Robson, 20, and George Honeyman, 21, are the other likeliest academy graduates to be in the Premier League squad come August.

Josh Maja, an 18-year-old forward who has caught the eye of a number of other Premier League clubs, also made the trip to Watford even though he didn’t play. That is a further indication of how Allardyce – unlike many of his predecessors – could be willing to give youth its chance.

Greenwood said: “The manager tells us to do well in training. He says that we will all get a chance because he thinks we are good enough. We have to show him that he is right and that we can be in and around the first team picture a lot more.

“Of every manager that I have seen here over the years, this manager has had the biggest impact on the academy. Sam’s got young players training with the first team squad, involved and is doing what he can to involve them … that will help us all.

“I travelled to Newcastle and Manchester United before I started but I have been training every day with them. It’s been great and is helping me learn and improve.”

Greenwood has played with Sunderland since the age of eight, having been monitored closely as a primary schoolboy when he played for both Winlaton, the village in Gateshead where he is from, and Ryton.

Trying to cause Watford’s defence problems in front of a packed Vicarage Road was a different proposition to what he has been used to.

Greenwood, who has been a key part of helping Sunderland’s Under-21s to second in their league this season, said: “I don’t think you can compare them to be honest. I can’t describe what it felt like on Sunday.

“To play in front of a crowd like that at Watford was ridiculous. When I played in front of 4,000 I thought that was bad, then coming here to play in front of 21,000 was mind blowing. It’s ridiculous.

“When you are actually on the pitch concentrating, you don’t tend to take much notice. Obviously you can hear the fans sing loudly and that spurs you on.

“You just have to show everyone why you have the chance because I have never been on loan before, so playing on that sort of stage was totally new to me. I loved it.”

Had Sunderland’s Premier Leaguer future not been assured with a game to spare, Greenwood would not have had his chance against the Hornets. Having enjoyed – and performed solidly - the occasion, he is focused on making sure he doesn’t have to wait long for a second outing.

Greenwood, who was watched by his grandad and uncle at Watford, said: “Hopefully next year we can completely avoid the relegation zone because then it could help the younger lads get more game time. If we can start the season well, at a steady pace, then we could go on and enjoy a good season.

“Every time I have gone over to the first team training sessions I have to be ready to put the work in and that’s the same for any of the young lads who train with the first team lads. If I can impress over there, then hopefully I will play more games next season, but that’s up to the manager.”