Newcastle United could be about to poach one of the many exciting Sunderland prospects in the next summer transfer window. For Black Cats fans, it would be a travesty.
Sunderland are in a very strong situation right now: sitting in 4th place of the Championship table and boasting a first-team squad worth over £100million, if previous and recent reports regarding transfer values are to be believed.
Of course, owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus won’t offload all of his player assets in the summer. And who stays and who goes may largely depend on whether or not Sunderland earn promotion this season.
But there’ll certainly be interest in the summer transfer window and fans might already know who’s going to come into the spotlight; the likes of Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg are the obvious candidates.
It’s recently been claimed that Bellingham and Rigg are worth £40million each and so cashing in even one of them in the summer could fund a very healthy transfer window for the Black Cats.
But right now it seems like Rigg is the one more likely to leave the Stadium of Light, given his age and the sheer volume of interest in signing him.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Chris Rigg can pick his next club, and it could be Newcastle United
Rigg signed a professional contract with Sunderland last summer. That came amid strong interest from the likes of Newcastle United who wanted to poach the 17-year-old after he made 21 Championship appearances in the 2023/24 campaign.
He’s since made 31 league appearances under Regis Le Bris this season, scoring four times. Rigg has become a key player despite his young age and his fine form has lead to links with Real Madrid and Manchester United, as well as a number of other Premier League and European teams.
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Speaking to Sunderland AFC News, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has now revealed that Rigg will have the final say on where he ends up, with Newcastle among the clubs to have scouted him ‘heavily’ this season.
Bailey explained: “Rigg is different to all his teammates, not to undermine them, but he is genuinely a ‘generational’ talent. He has his future in his own hands, if he wants his next club to be Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United or Newcastle United – it’s going to be his call.
“All those clubs I mentioned have scouted him heavily, they love him and want him. Rigg is letting his people take care of the interest but even if Sunderland go up, it will be very hard for them to keep him.”
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
Jobe Bellingham’s high praise for Sunderland teammate Chris Rigg
Everyone can see how good Rigg is and how much potential he has at such a young age. And his teammates perhaps know better than anyone just how good a player he is.
Speaking recently, Bellingham hailed Rigg’s ability, saying: “I knew about Riggy before [signing for Sunderland] to be fair, but he’s the player I’ve been most impressed with since I’ve come to the club.”
As Bailey says, Rigg could leave regardless of whether or not Sunderland are promoted this season, and there’ll likely be a queue of clubs waiting to sign him.
But if the Black Cats are promoted then they could at least command a higher transfer fee for the teenager or even keep him at the club, and watch his transfer value sky rocket with a bit of Premier League exposure.
Either way, Sunderland have positive options.