Chris Rigg’s future at Sunderland has become clearer as the 16-year-old got his first league start this week.
Sunderland is a club full of promising young players. The youngest may be the most exciting of them all.
Rigg, 16, played near the end of last season, scored his first goal for the club this season, and made his entire league debut for the Black Cats this week against Leicester City.
Despite playing against strong competition, Rigg received glowing reviews.
He showed no fear in the face of some top Championship players and was perhaps one of Sunderland’s finest performers on the night.
Chris Rigg ready to commit future to Sunderland
Rigg’s future at the Stadium of Light has been the subject of much speculation in recent months.
Newcastle United has expressed an interest in him, as have Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich.
But early this year, it was widely reported that Rigg and Sunderland had reached an agreement under which Rigg would sign professional terms with the club when he turned 17 in June.
Clubs could still swoop for Rigg before then, but the Sunderland Echo reports that the Hebburn-born midfielder prefers to stay on Wearside.
The report reads:
“Rigg’s camp believes that it is preferable to play first-team football rather than relocate from the North East to play under-21 football and potentially stagnate. Rigg made his senior debut for the club against Leicester City in the Championship on Tuesday evening at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland is a good place for youngsters to play football
Sunderland’s interim manager, Mike Dodds, believes the club is an excellent location for young players to develop, and he is correct.
Like Rigg and so many others, it is proving to be a club that places a lot of trust in younger players and often reaps the benefits of that trust.
Then there are names like Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson, who have demonstrated that there is a clear path from the young levels to the first-team, and Jack Clarke, who failed in his first big Premier League move to Spurs but has been reborn at Sunderland.
So for Rigg, it appears that staying at Sunderland for at least the next few years would be extremely helpful to his development.
Perhaps a move to Bayern Munich or Manchester City would be more appropriate, as he would not be moving directly into the youth teams, but rather the first squad.
Sunderland return to action against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
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