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West Ham are ready to pounce for one of the best young talents in the country.
West Ham continue to be linked with one of the Championship’s best young players. Chris Rigg has become a Sunderland regular at just 17 years of age, and he is clearly set for a big future, already representing England at five different age groups, currently an under-19.
Rigg has been key to Sunderland’s playoff bid this season, and depending on how they get off in the playoffs, there will be interest aplenty this season. Here we round up the latest amid interest from the Hammers heading towards the summer.
Latest West Ham links
West Ham continue to be linked with Rigg, and according to a fresh report from The Sun, the Hammers have the young midfielder ‘high on their list’ of targets. The feeling is, though, that if Sunderland manage to secure promotion to the Premier League, Rigg will end up staying for at least another season.
The Black Cats are set to finish in the top six, and they will get a crack at the playoffs, and with Sunderland being Rigg’s boyhood club, he is not going to give up the chance to represent them in the Premier League. But if he does become available, it does seem as though West Ham will be one of the clubs pushing to sign him, and it’s reported that believe they can get a £10million deal despite talk of Rigg being valued at around £20million.
Sunderland’s stance on Rigg
Sunderland chief Kristjaan Speakman has addressed talk of Rigg leaving the club recently. He told The Second Tier podcast: “Really, really pleased for him because he's such a good kid. And also, there was a lot of speculation last season on him coming out of the U21 team and his academy contract - will he stay, will he go somewhere else? - and I think for our football club to be able to retain talent like that, as we have done, I think is a really, really positive thing.
“But then we've also got to believe in that talent and give them the opportunity, and obviously he's had opportunities in the team and he's taken those opportunities. I'm really, really pleased for him, and hopefully that gives a good inspiration to the other players in our academy system that when the opportunity's there, they'll be given time on the pitch.”
Rigg on his love for Sunderland
Rigg was asked about his future during a Q and A with supporters, as detailed by the Sunderland Echo. He said: “I think some people don't realise how much it means to put on a Sunderland shirt and give it your all for the team.
“I think I can say that I do every time I go on the pitch. So yeah, it's very special for me to be playing, and I'm trying to take every opportunity that comes. Yeah, I think that probably sums it up, to be honest.”
Backing from the boss
Rigg has struggle for form a little of late, but such spells come for every player, and especially for players who are so young. Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has backed Rigg. “This is really Chris Rigg’s first season,” Le Bris told the Northern Echo. “It is a new experience for him. It is not unusual for a player like that to struggle a little bit at this stage of the season, after 35 games.
“We spoke together last week. He said he wasn’t happy about his game level, but I said, ‘It is normal – you just have to adjust to this new experience’. As a club and as a staff, we have to create the right condition for him to be able to recover, then I am sure he will find his best level again.”
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