Why Chris Rigg's Sunderland contract is a big deal and what it means for the future

Even as Chris Rigg made his FA cup bow aged just 15, the widespread assumption in the game was that his short and long-term future most likely lay elsewhere.

There was a queue of top Premier League sides eager to sign one of the most talented players of his age group, including a resurgent Newcastle United who also offered a strong emotional pull.

That Rigg will now sign a two-year scholarship to extend his stay on Wearside for the foreseeable future is therefore a huge coup for the Black Cats, and an exciting moment for the youngster with genuine first-team ambitions.

Like Jobe Bellingham's arrival this summer, it is a sign of the club using its unique selling point for young players: The chance to develop in a Premier League environment but with a genuine pathway to the first team. The off-field instability and lack of structure that so hampered the club as it tumbled into League One and got stuck there prevented the club being able to use this obvious advantage before, and was one of the key reasons so many of Rigg's talented predecessors opted to move on.

Retaining young talent has never been more challenging for clubs outside the Premier League elite, but Sunderland's genuine commitment to creating space in their senior time is giving them a fighting chance. This applies to players like Tom Watson and Adam Richardson as much as it does Rigg.

Rigg's scholarship also offers Sunderland vital financial security. Rigg was free to leave for any club up until this point, and in that scenario Sunderland would have been compensated under the sums set out in the Elite Player Performance Plan. It would, it is fair to say, have been a paltry figure.

Now, any club looking to sign Rigg must first agree a fee with Sunderland. The youngster will of course be free to leave at the end of his new deal, but if compensation was not agreed with any new club then it would be determined by a tribunal. That would take into account Sunderland's investment in Rigg, and likely reward the Black Cats should he go on to enjoy future success. The most high-profile example of such a tribunal recently would probably be following Harvey Elliott's move to Liverpool, with a panel awarding Fulham up to £4.3 million.

Sunderland will almost certainly look to offer Rigg his first professional contract at the first opportunity to do so, which will be when he turns 17 next summer.

For now, Sunderland will look to give Rigg the time and space he needs to develop. Rigg, like every other player, will have a specifically tailored individual development plan to help him kick on again.

Having split his time between the academy and school last year, he should be able to train with the first team more regularly. Though obviously still raw, Tony Mowbray rates the youngster's technical ability and even more so his fearless approach to the midfield battle. "He just gets wellied right in," Mowbray memorably said last season.

Above all else, the deal gives both player and club certainty and stability, crucial if that obvious promise is to be realised in the future. For Rigg, the hard work starts now.