Post by Les on Feb 14, 2024 13:00:36 GMT
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Newcastle lead Liverpool in wonderkid race with target a big Magpies fan
Chris Rigg is ready to leave Sunderland this summer with North East neighbours Newcastle hoping to sign the teenage midfielder ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
HITC Football understands that, after chasing 16-year-old Chris Rigg for 12 months now, Newcastle are currently the favourites to land one of the brightest young talents in the Football League.
The rising star is ready to move on from Sunderland amid substantial interest from the division above. That alone will come as a disappointment to a Black Cats side who have nurtured Rigg’s obvious talent, and the sight of the England under-18 international making the short trip from Wearside to Tyneside will merely season those wounds.
HITC has been informed that Rigg and his family are huge Newcastle fans. A factor which gives The Magpies a potential advantage over rival top-flight suitors, though Sunderland would presumably prefer to sell to a Manchester United, a Chelsea or a Liverpool rather than their bitter rivals from down the road.
Hebburn-born Rigg, who only turned 16 in June 2023, is Sunderland’s youngest-ever goalscorer. He has made nine first-team appearances this term too. Ex-Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray taking the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ approach with one of the most exciting homegrown talents in his age group.
“Chris Rigg is pushing really hard for a starting place in our team,” Mowbray, now at Birmingham City, told The Chronicle a few months back. “And I don’t say that lightly. He’s a 16-year-old boy.
“He knows where the goal is and wants to run forward. He’s got energy to burn and can keep running all day. He’s still a young boy but he has wonderful qualities and wonderful attributes.”
‘A really good footballer’
Rigg has been likened to another Sunderland academy graduate Jordan Henderson in some quarters, with the former sharing the latter’s energy, enthusiasm and work-rate on and off the ball.
“He trains, he runs, he tackles, he plays forward, he dribbles, he shoots…,” Mowbray also said when Rigg was still just 15.
“He’s a really good footballer.”
It is not yet certain how much Sunderland will demand should Newcastle and co firm up their interest in the coming months. The Championship play-off pushers reportedly wanted £3 million last summer.
Newcastle lead Liverpool in wonderkid race with target a big Magpies fan
Chris Rigg is ready to leave Sunderland this summer with North East neighbours Newcastle hoping to sign the teenage midfielder ahead of Premier League rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
HITC Football understands that, after chasing 16-year-old Chris Rigg for 12 months now, Newcastle are currently the favourites to land one of the brightest young talents in the Football League.
The rising star is ready to move on from Sunderland amid substantial interest from the division above. That alone will come as a disappointment to a Black Cats side who have nurtured Rigg’s obvious talent, and the sight of the England under-18 international making the short trip from Wearside to Tyneside will merely season those wounds.
HITC has been informed that Rigg and his family are huge Newcastle fans. A factor which gives The Magpies a potential advantage over rival top-flight suitors, though Sunderland would presumably prefer to sell to a Manchester United, a Chelsea or a Liverpool rather than their bitter rivals from down the road.
Hebburn-born Rigg, who only turned 16 in June 2023, is Sunderland’s youngest-ever goalscorer. He has made nine first-team appearances this term too. Ex-Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray taking the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ approach with one of the most exciting homegrown talents in his age group.
“Chris Rigg is pushing really hard for a starting place in our team,” Mowbray, now at Birmingham City, told The Chronicle a few months back. “And I don’t say that lightly. He’s a 16-year-old boy.
“He knows where the goal is and wants to run forward. He’s got energy to burn and can keep running all day. He’s still a young boy but he has wonderful qualities and wonderful attributes.”
‘A really good footballer’
Rigg has been likened to another Sunderland academy graduate Jordan Henderson in some quarters, with the former sharing the latter’s energy, enthusiasm and work-rate on and off the ball.
“He trains, he runs, he tackles, he plays forward, he dribbles, he shoots…,” Mowbray also said when Rigg was still just 15.
“He’s a really good footballer.”
It is not yet certain how much Sunderland will demand should Newcastle and co firm up their interest in the coming months. The Championship play-off pushers reportedly wanted £3 million last summer.