Sunderland star Chris Rigg is set to make a huge decision on his Sunderland future, amid links to Manchester United, Newcastle United, and more.
Chris Rigg, 16, is a wanted man following his impressive 2023/24 season with Sunderland, in which he featured 21 times in the Championship, scoring two goals.
He’s had links to some of Europe’s top clubs. More recently though, Premier League duo Manchester United and Newcastle United have been closely linked.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are also being strongly linked ahead of the summer transfer window, with Rigg’s two-year scholarship at the Stadium of Light expiring this month.
Rigg also turns 17 this month; upon turning 17, Rigg will be able to sign a professional contract, though who that will be with remains to be seen.
Now though, Rigg’s future on Wearside has become clearer.
Chris Rigg waiting to find out who next Sunderland manager is
An emerging report from Sunderland Echo has revealed that Rigg is waiting to discover who the next Sunderland manager will be, before deciding on his next step.
The same report reiterates the fact that Rigg believes his development will be best-served playing regular, first-team football, instead of playing U21s football with a major club.
Reports earlier in the season suggested that Rigg had an agreement in place with Sunderland to sign a professional contract upon his 17th birthday.
But the club’s ongoing delay in finding a manager appears to have thrown a spanner in the works; the Black Cats have been without a manager for coming up to four months now.
Sunderland facing major transfer problem amid manager search
Rigg’s decision to wait to find out who the next Sunderland manger is seems fair; he won’t want to commit to something that, as of right now, is quite unknown.
Not only that but the ongoing uncertainty in the manager search suggests an air of uncertainty within the whole club, and that might not appeal to Rigg in the medium-term.
The same thinking could indeed be applied to a number of players with the Black Cats having plenty in demand right now.
Jack Clarke, Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, Trai Hume, and more recently Jobe Bellingham are all names wanted by teams in the Premier League.
And if Sunderland can’t figure out who they’ll appoint soon, it could prompt a lot of names to look for the exit door.
The club is on a downwards trajectory after their poor 2023/24 season and this slow start to the post-season keeps them on that trajectory, with the knock-on effects, e.g. Rigg potentially leaving, only serving to keep Sunderland on this downward spiral.