Ex-Sunderland favourite sends Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham transfer warning amid Premier League interest

Former Sunderland man Chris Turner has discussed Sunderland’s transfer strategy at length and delivered his thoughts on the statuses of starlets Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham.

Rigg, 17, and Jobe, 19, have been regulars in Régis Le Bris’ squad so far this season, with Sunderland fighting at the top end of the table after ten games played in the Championship during the 2024-25 campaign. The Black Cats’ model centres partly around handing opportunities to young players to impress in front of a big crowd.

Turner, now 66, started his career at Sheffield Wednesday before joining Sunderland in 1978, where he would stay for six seasons, making over 200 appearances in all competitions between the sticks for the Wearsiders during his stint.

Asked about Sunderland’s youth-focused approach in the Championship, Turner told The Echo: “Great on them. They've gone down a route, they've stuck to the route. They haven't been what you would call really successful, but when you go down a route, it takes time. Especially when you're playing a young side, it takes time. But when you get there, and you start the signs of being successful, then you become successful, well worth the wait.

“You've got your young side developing together, playing together, winning together, being successful. It's a great feeling for fans and a great feeling for the club. The fans get a bit frustrated, obviously, because it takes time. But it does take time to develop a club, develop a culture, and to obviously strive for success on a consistent basis. That takes time. I think Sunderland now are a number of years down the line towards that.

“Some of them have been there for 18 months, 12 months, six months. They're in the team, they're playing, they're making a name for themselves. They're doing well, the team's doing well at the top of the Championship, in the top three or four and those two boys, Rigg and Bellingham, have got a great future in the game, hopefully with Sunderland.”

Both Rigg and Jobe have attracted transfer interest in recent times. Rigg signed a three-year deal at the club last summer, while Jobe also extended his contract at Sunderland during the off-season amid talk of bids from the Premier League. Turner, however, believes the pair’s development would be best served on Wearside for the time being despite the inevitable further future interest from top-level clubs.

The Echo has launched a new SAFC WhatsApp channel.

“The difficulty will be keeping the young players together because obviously prying eyes from above will be looking at these younger players,” Turner explained. “Especially the teams in the Premier League that are lower down the league, Everton and places like that, where a young player from the Championship can step up into their team and develop in their team.

“To develop into Arsenal's team and Man City's team is very, very hard for young players now. In my era, as you said, I went to Manchester United, the top club in the First Division. Players did go down from lower leagues, smaller clubs up there. Today, young players going from a club like Sunderland to going and playing for the top three or four teams is very difficult. They won't get game time.”