SUNDERLAND are aware of Manchester United’s growing interest in Chris Rigg, but will resist all approaches for the teenager during the January transfer window.
And with Rigg only having signed his first professional contract on Wearside this summer, there is strong confidence the 17-year-old will not have his head turned even if he is offered the opportunity to move to the Premier League in a couple of months’ time.
Rigg’s performances in the opening three months of the season have made him one of the most talked-about youngsters in Europe, let alone the Football League.
Manchester United have a long-standing interest in the midfielder, and were hoping to prise him from the Stadium of Light prior to him signing his first professional deal in July.
Rigg and his representatives are understood to have been aware of Manchester United’s plans, but instead opted to remain with Sunderland. Rigg signed a three-year deal with the Black Cats, committing himself to the club to the summer of 2027.
Manchester United’s interest has not gone away though, with the Old Trafford club heading a long list of clubs who are being linked with a possible January move for Rigg’s services. Chelsea, Wolves and Crystal Palace have all been touted as potential suitors in the last few days, along with La Liga side Real Madrid.
A January approach from Manchester United is regarded as likely though, with the new regime in charge of the Red Devils hoping to make changes at the turn of the year to assist new boss Ruben Amorim as he seeks to transform the club’s fortunes.
New Manchester United owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is keen to make changes in January, and has instructed the club’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth, to start formalising plans for the transfer window.
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Unlike in the past, however, when Ashworth would effectively have been handed a blank chequebook, the Manchester United chief accepts he will have to work within relatively strict financial constraints to ensure the club remains compliant with the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules.  As a result, there will be a focus on trying to recruit promising youngsters rather than the kind of big-name, big-money signings that have not worked in recent years.
Sources claim the Manchester United hierarchy regard Rigg as the most appealing young domestic talent that could potentially be available, and are ready to test Sunderland’s resolve to hold on to their academy product.
Sunderland sporting director, Kristjaan Speakman, is braced for formal offers at the turn of the year, but the strong message emanating from the Stadium of Light is that Rigg will not be available for any price at the turn of the year.
While the Black Cats cashed in on Jack Clarke in the summer, that came after a succession of windows in which offers for the winger were rebuffed. Crucially, the decision to sell Clarke also came at a point when he had entered the final year of his contract and had indicated he was not willing to sign a new deal.
The situation with Rigg is completely different. Contractually, Sunderland are not in a vulnerable position over the youngster, and unlike with Clarke, there is no sense that Rigg has reached a point where it would be hard to hold on to him amid Premier League interest.
When he agreed to sign for Sunderland in the summer, the teenager and his advisors concluded that he would benefit greatly from a season of regular first-team football in the Championship. That belief has not changed, indeed, if anything, it has been strengthened by the level of responsibility Regis Le Bris has handed Rigg, and the speed at which the youngster has established himself as a regular starter.
Speaking to The Northern Echo in the summer, Speakman confirmed that Sunderland were not in a position where they had to sell because of FFP considerations. As a result, there is a strong determination to reject any January offers that arrive for Rigg.
