Sunderland boss gives interesting insight into Newcastle United target Chris Rigg's development

For a brief moment it had looked as if 15-year-old Chris Rigg had scored a stoppage-time winner to knock out Premier League opposition, only for an offside flag to spoil the party.

It had all the same been an eye-catching contribution from the England youth international, who had played his part from the bench in turning around a 1-0 deficit against Shrewsbury Town in the previous round.

And there is every chance the youngster will get the chance to make more memories, and his first appearance at the Stadium of Light, on Wednesday night.

Rigg is in the squad for the replay against Fulham, and Mowbray has made clear has no concerns using him if required.

"I've no fear putting Chris Rigg on the pitch," Mowbray said.

"I'm watching him in training today and to be honest you wish you could put that fire in his belly into some other players.

"He gets wellied right into everyone, he doesn't look at reputation. He gets stuck in, wins tackles. Why wouldn't you put him on the pitch?

"He's got qualities that I really like and I know the fans of this club will really like. But he's still a spindly boy at this point and we do have to be careful with him. I've no fears of putting him on the pitch, he's not going to be scared or overawed. He's going to tackle the nearest opponent to him and drive with the ball, pick a pass, keep running... that's what he does.

"I'm very aware still of how delicate it is with his age. He'll get dropped in and dropped out and we'll explain to him why when it's the latter. He's not a first-team player at Sunderland yet, at 15, and there are a lot of other young players who need game time and need to play.

"But I see qualities in Chris that can help our team at any given time and so I've no worries about putting him on the pitch."

With nine substitutes allowed, Rigg is likely again to be joined in the squad by fellow academy talents Zak Johnson and Tom Watson.