Manchester United are interested in Sunderland teenager Chris Rigg, but face stiff competition from fellow Premier League side Newcastle United for the highly-rated youngster’s signature.
According to The Sun, Manchester United are reportedly trying to steal a march in the race to sign Sunderland’s teenage wonderkid Chris Rigg, but Newcastle United are strong favourites to secure the services of the 15-year-old England Under-16 captain in the January transfer window.
The 15-year-old central midfielder, who doesn’t turn 16 until June, is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the country for his age and has drawn interest from Newcastle United, Chelsea, Everton, and Manchester United.
A central midfielder by trade who can operate as a wide midfielder on either side of the pitch. He has notched up two assists in six appearances for the Sunderland youth sides, the Under-18s and reserve side, this season so far.
Rigg has captained England’s Under-16s and has already been called up for the Under-17s. Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray has also called him training with the senior side regularly which, at 15, highlights how highly he is regarded at the Stadium of Light.
The report also revealed that any interested party would need to pay a fee of around £2.5 million. The figure seems a bit steep considering it is for a 15-year-old, who is too young now to sign a professional contract with Sunderland, but it’s nothing that Premier League clubs can’t afford.
The Black Cats are desperate to retain the wonderkid, but they are increasingly fearful that the lure of playing for a top-flight team could tempt him away from committing to a professional contract with them. Thus, the door is open for another English club to snap him up for the right price and add a quality player to their academy.
Manchester United, for one, have an excellent relationship with Sunderland, having loaned out promising wide man Amad Diallo to the Stadium of Light at the start of the season. With six goals and one assist in 18 Championship appearances, the 20-year-old has been one of the Black Cats’ best performers this season.
It remains to be seen if the Red Devils will look to leverage that in order to jump ahead of their competitors in a swoop for Rigg in the near future but they are likely to face stiff competition from fellow top-four rivals Newcastle United.
With Dan Ashworth joining Eddie Howe at St James’ Park as the club’s sporting director, the search for young talent has been relentless on Tyneside. The summer transfer window saw the Magpies bolster its academy ranks with the arrivals of highly-rated trio Alex Murphy, Charlie McArthur, and Jude Smith, while Garan Kuol was also swooped in from A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners.
15-year-old midfielder Rigg is the latest name on their radar. The Magpies are reportedly at the front of the queue to capture him from bitter rivals Sunderland and hope to hold the upper hand with Rigg and his family Newcastle supporters. It will be interesting to see who will come out on top in this battle for one of the hottest prospects in England at underage levels.
