Newcastle United and Everton are both keen on Sunderland’s Chris Rigg.
Sunderland are currently in the midst of a promotion race in League One and are currently one of three clubs on 76 points – Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers being the other two.
However, the Wearside outfit may want to divert their attention elsewhere. This comes with news from The Sun’s Alan Nixon that Premier League sides Everton and Newcastle United are interested in one of their youngsters in Rigg.
Premier League sides eyeing Rigg move…
Nixon writes that Sunderland have a fight on their hands to keep hold of Rigg, a 14-year-old midfielder playing up the age groups at the Black Cats.
The youngster has come through the age-group system at the Stadium of Light and has progressed into the Under-18s, despite being just 14 years of age.
Despite his age, Rigg is more than holding his own against players much older than himself.
He has made seven appearances for Sunderland in the Under-18s Premier League competition. In these seven games, Rigg has scored two goals against Newcastle United Under-18s and Leeds United Under-18s as well as an assist against the latter.
Nixon writes that Rigg’s form and potential has both Everton and Newcastle United locked in a fight for his signature. He adds that youngster Rigg is “tipped to move in the summer” with a £1million price tag being mentioned.
Thoughts?
Teams lower down the league system must always be wary of their better players being cherry-picked by Premier League sides. Unfortunately, that will always be the case.
Sunderland are in that position now with Rigg and interest from both Everton and Newcastle United. Nixon writes that Rigg is seen as “the best player in the country in his age group.”
Realistically, as Nixon also points out, Sunderland are likely to realise that they cannot compete with the lure of development at a Premier League club.
Whilst £1million would come in handy for restructuring ahead of next season, it would come at the cost of losing another highly-rated young player.
