Sunderland starlet captains England U17s to 4-1 win over Spain amid Man United transfer interest

Sunderland starlet Chris Rigg captained England under-17s as they defeated their counterparts from Spain 4-1 on Tuesday evening.

The 16-year-old managed to get himself on the scoresheet too alongside a brace from Manchester United’s Shea Lacey and a goal from Chelsea striker Shumaira Mheuka at the Pinatar Arena.

Rigg scored with a header for Greg Lincoln's side as the Young Lions bounced back after a 3-2 loss to Portugal and a 1-1 draw with Morocco over the last week.

The 16-year-old netted a remarkable second senior goal for Sunderland last weekend against Southampton in the Championship on Saturday.

The header marked Rigg's first league goal on his first league appearance, making him Sunderland's youngest-ever Championship scorer and the second division's second-youngest scorer behind Jude Bellingham.

Earlier this season, Rigg became Sunderland's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Carabao Cup against Crewe Alexandra and became that competition's youngest-ever scorer pipping the likes of Wayne Rooney.

Rigg made his Sunderland debut in the FA Cup against Fulham last season and became the club's youngest-ever outfield player.

Hebburn-born Rigg, who signed a two-year scholarship deal at the Academy of Light during the summer, has played for the Three Lions at under-15 and under-16 levels but has now moved on to the under-17s.

Rigg has also been the subject of transfer interest from Premier League giants Manchester United with Alan Nixon claiming that Manchester United were recently only put off by a £3million valuation from Sunderland during the transfer window.

Sunderland face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Championship this weekend with Rigg expected to be part of Tony Mowbray's first-team squad.