Chris Rigg
The 17-year-old has been in sparkling form for the Black Cats in recent weeks, and has featured in all four of his side’s Championship victories so far this season – including a run of three successive starts against Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, and Portsmouth. And as a consequence of his emergence into the first team picture on Wearside, HITC claim that a number of top continental sides are taking an interest in Rigg’s progress. Indeed, the online publication even goes as far as to suggest that some scouts regard the starlet as “the best young English player since Jude Bellingham”. Specifically name-checked by HITC are Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, with the understanding being that the former have been tracking Rigg for around a year now, while the latter are keen for him to follow in the footsteps of former Birmingham City midfielder Bellingham by swapping the Championship for the Bundesliga. Fellow German outfits RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich are also credited with interest, while a number of unnamed English sides are said to believe that Rigg has a “huge future” and that he is “likely to be the next big-money Championship departure”. Rigg himself only put pen to paper on a professional contract with Sunderland this summer, agreeing a deal at the Stadium of Light that is set to run until 2027. Speaking at the time, he said: “I am absolutely buzzing, to be honest.
Chris Rigg
“It is a proud moment for myself and my family to be signing my first professional contract at a club like Sunderland. I have been dying to sign it for almost a year now. I want to develop as a player and improve as a person – and I believe this is the best place for me to do that. All the staff have been unbelievable with me throughout my journey at the Academy of Light, but there are still so many improvements I can make. The hard work starts now, but I am looking forward to making many more memories representing this clu b.” Chris Rigg
