Cats trying to keep talented youngster
SUNDERLAND are out to show 15-year-old rising talent Chris Rigg that his current pathway is the right one for him to stay on.
The England U17 international has caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs, with arch-rivals Newcastle United reportedly plotting a move for his signature.
After impressing for Sunderland’s U15s side, which lifted the national Floodlit Cup back in May, the Magpies and Everton have been linked with a £2.5million move for Rigg.
The young midfielder is yet to sign a professional deal given his young age, but has been handed a number of opportunities to showcase his talent.
Rigg was part of Tony Mowbray’s squad that travelled down to face Birmingham City, where he was in contention to become the youngest player in the club’s history. The youngster was not named in the matchday squad, but it’s clear to see how highly he’s thought of on Wearside.
Rigg enjoyed a second-half cameo at the Academy of Light as Sunderland U21s fell to a defeat against Southampton U21s in Premier League 2 Division 2 action. It’s his third appearance at U21 level, an impressive feat for someone that is still eligible to play Under-16s football.
Sunderland are now tasked with coming up with a programme to keep hold of one of their brightest talents in recent years at the club,
with it being the first real test of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman’s new look academy.
Under-21s coach Graeme Murty has drawn comparisons between Rigg and former Rangers and former Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour, who he worked with closely during his time at Ibrox.
Speaking after Rigg’s second-half display against Southampton, Murty said: “It’s really interesting actually because there’s parallels between him and Billy Gilmour – I saw that at close hand at Rangers – because of the young age and the interest in the player. We have to make sure, first and foremost, that the message is consistent for him, so there’s no confusion for him.
“We have to make sure we individualise his programme, because he’ll be on a different programme to his peers of the same age. We have to make sure we get an appropriate level of challenge and support and we’re making sure as a club, not just me, but there’s lots of staff around him that he’s getting exactly what we need.
“He’s in a good place. Getting good minutes in the Under-21s and we have to make sure that if he has any questions, we’re open and transparent with him as to his development plan going forward.
“I think if you do that with a player, I don’t think they can have any negative thoughts towards the programme that we’re providing because he’s getting exposure to some new concepts, new learning and a new level of football which is all good to him.
“I’m going to go from here and on the way to Hebburn, I’m going to be phoning Ryan Garry who is lead coach of England U17s away with England, I’ll be looking for feedback on Chris and looking at what England see for him moving forward as well. It’s not just one department, there’s loads of different departments and lots of different facets to his development and we have to make sure that we’re across all of them.”
Murty’s appointment at the Academy of Light was seen as somewhat of a coup, having managed Rangers first-team and helped a number of youngsters come through the ranks in Scotland. He’s stressed the importance of challenging Rigg to ensure the youngster remains in red and white.
The Sunderland coach added: “Then I think there’s a bit in there that he wants to go and play the way that he can at Under-18s level or Under-16s level. Things move a little bit faster and he’s going to get caught. He’s not going to be able to dribble past people as often, so then, what’s his next solution?
“We have to keep challenging him with another solution and making sure that he understands losing the ball in a dribble isn’t negative, it’s just a learning process for him so that he has another way of becoming successful. What I will say about him, is that he’s an active learner. He’s very bright and asks good questions. When you give him tactical information he’s able to process that and put it into effect really quickly.
“For me as a coach, it’s a pleasure to work with players like that. For him, we have to make sure that we keep on giving him the appropriate level of challenge so that it doesn’t become too easy.
“It’s not going to be, physically at the moment, but we have to make sure that we keep on challenging, stimulating his curiosity and mind so that he keeps on seeing this as an aspirational and positive place to be.”