Exclusive:Chris Rigg handed Sunderland transfer verdict as England prediction and Luka Modric comparison emerge
Chris Rigg has been backed to become an England international despite questions over his Sunderland pathway.
Chris Rigg has been backed to become a regular Premier League player at Sunderland and a future England international, despite the debate around his pathway next season.
The 19-year-old made clear strides during his first Premier League campaign, producing a coming-of-age performance away to Newcastle United and scoring his first top-flight goal away at Aston Villa. But Rigg was still limited to 18 league appearances, with some supporters questioning whether the midfielder would benefit from a loan move to guarantee regular football.
Sunderland’s rapid rise has made the competition for places sharper than ever. The Black Cats are now a Premier League side with Europa League football to prepare for, and the squad will need to be deeper, stronger and more varied than it has been at any stage in recent years. The European schedule could also alter Rigg’s situation significantly. More games should mean more opportunities, and the Sunderland academy graduate is expected to be more heavily involved next season as Régis Le Bris balances domestic and European demands.
For Ben Carr, who coached Rigg during his academy journey, the current debate is simply part of a wider development process. The former Sunderland academy coach believes Rigg has already shown he can handle difficult moments and still come through them.
“That sort of non-linear journey follows every player,” Carr told The Echo. “There are very few players who keep on progressing. Even Riggy came into the system as one of the high-talent individuals, alongside Matty Young and a few other players that were there, Mason Cotcher and Leighton Campbell, and they were high-level players, but he certainly had some of those ups and downs.
“I remember multiple times sitting in meetings, and people would be like: ‘There are question marks over this, there are question marks over that.’ There are always those things, and he’s always gone through them. He probably wasn’t aware of many of them because he’s just got this desire to play. Now obviously, he’s probably not playing as much as he possibly can. It is a bit of a - not a stumbling block - but certainly a speed bump for him and his development, even though it’s senior football.
“My opinion is that he’ll get through that and continue to develop and kick on. To have the volume of appearances that he’s already had at such a young age, just turning 19, already shows that he’s got the mentality to kick on and progress into one of the young standout players of the North East and probably the country. “I feel that he’ll just carry on progressing, in my opinion. This was a breakthrough season, a big step up for both the club and him, and next season, as long as the club keeps on opening up those pathways for him, he’ll cement a spot in the team and be able to establish himself as a regular Premier League footballer.”
That is the key balance Sunderland must strike. A loan might appear tempting if Rigg’s route to regular starts remains blocked, but the context has changed. Sunderland will have a heavier fixture list, a need for rotation and a player who has already shown he can influence high-level matches when trusted.
“As long as he has the right support in his development and he continues to want to develop his game, I believe he can become an international player,” Carr said. “He’s shown that in his youth journey that he’s become captain of England as a youth player. “I guess the challenge for him now, and the club, is to support that journey for him to be able to do that at a senior level. I certainly think he’s got the ability to become an international player, but he’s going to have to develop his game, and I believe he has the mentality to do that.”
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That mentality is the thread running through Rigg’s story. Carr remembers meeting the midfielder during the off-season and asking him a question that brought a striking response. “We met for a coffee when he was off last off-season, and I talked to him,” Carr said. “I think we were chatting away, and I said something along the lines of: ‘How are you going to be the best player in the league?’ That’s when he was in the Championship. He just said: ‘I’m not bothered about being the best player in the league, I want to be the best player in the world.’ He said that without a flicker of hesitation or reservation. It wasn’t a throwaway comment. It was a comment that came with some real belief and some desire behind it.”
Rigg has already packed plenty into a career still in its earliest stages. He has been a promotion winner, an England youth captain, a Premier League goalscorer and a player trusted in some of the club’s biggest recent moments. The challenge now is turning that promise into sustained top-flight influence. Carr believes it would be wrong to place limits on what Rigg can become.
“As with every player, we can all sit and put limitations on what we think they can do, because every player has limitations,” he said. “We only have to look at Luka Modric. He’s playing, and he’s got a million limitations, but his belief, desire and maximising the abilities that he has has allowed him to become one of the best players in the world. “That would be the same for Chris. If he can find a way of maximising what he has around mentality and ability with the ball, then why should we put any limitations on what he could potentially become? He’s only 19. He’s already done so much.”
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