One Sunderland youngster has been tipped to win Young Player of the Season next term.
Sunderland fans head into the new campaign with high hopes, having been let down with a 16th place finish last time out.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will hope to start afresh after bringing in new manager Regis Le Bris, while a drastic change in the club’s transfer policy has seen Alan Browne, Simon Moore and Ian Poveda recruited.
The Black Cats will be aiming to reach the play-offs for a second time in three years, and while they have added some more experienced to their ranks, their talented youngsters will likely play a key part.
While Sunderland will be hoping the likes of Dan Ballard, Jobe Bellingham and Trai Hume can make an impact, there is arguably the most excitement around Chris Rigg.
The teenager opted to sign his first professional contract on Wearside this summer, despite heavy interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
After making only eight starts last season, Rigg is likely to earn himself a regular place in the starting line-up and has now even been compared to Jude Bellingham.
When asked who he thinks will win Young Player of the Season, Ryan Dilks told the Second Tier podcast: “I’ve gone with Chris Rigg. Now, look, this could be a very exciting season for, arguably, the most exciting young talent in the Championship. He started the majority of Sunderland’s preseason games, despite there being quite a bit of competition in midfield for Sunderland this season. But that goes to show how highly rated the lad is, despite only just turning 17.
“So he’s been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund… very, very highly rated and very, very highly sought after. But then he signed a new deal at Sunderland last month, which is a huge bit of business for them, and hopefully we’re about to see him feature a lot more for them.
“You’re asking a lot of 17 year old Archie Gray to play right back in one of the best teams we’ve ever seen at Championship level not to get promoted. So I think Chris Rigg can have a similar season to that. Archie Gray was the winner of this last season and that’s because he was phenomenal, despite being only 17. And there was a young lad before as well who played for Birmingham City every single week, I think his name was Jude something. So it’s not completely implausible over recent years for someone as young as Chris Rigg to have that kind of season.”
Bellingham made 41 appearances in his final season for Birmingham City and is now one of the best players in the world.
While there is no pressure on Rigg to step up that much next term, nobody ever expected Bellingham to reach those heights and fans could well see their own academy star catch the eye in the Championship.
While he is young and his minutes will need to be handled carefully, Rigg needs to be a regular in that starting line-up no matter what.
If the midfielder can be at his very best then Sunderland could see their chances of being promoted boosted massively.
Doubting him due to his age suggests you didn’t watch him week in week out at the end of last season, because he certainly didn’t look like a 16-year-old on the pitch.
There is a lot to be excited about with Rigg, but if he is to win the award next term then it could be difficult to keep hold of him.
Archie Gray was named Young Player of the Season before earning himself a move to Tottenham, while Brennan Johnson also made the switch to North London the previous summer.
Sunderland need to take advantage of having Rigg in their team for now and ensure they win promotion to the Premier League, because then they may have a chance at keeping hold of him.
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