Kristjaan Speakman has opened up on the uncertainty of Chris Rigg’s future at the club.
Sunderland have had an excellent start to life under new boss Regis Le Bris, with the Frenchman especially showing signs of getting the very best out of his younger ranks.
The Black Cats’ midfield in particular has been revolutionised, with Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham showing particular signs of promise in the centre-of-the-park, and both at this point being tipped to represent England at some point in their career.
Sunderland in the short-term will certainly be reaping the benefits of having such a brilliant midfield pairing, however it will likely prove to be a double-edged sword, with the pair likely to drum up interest in January.
Sunderland Director Kristjaan Speakman drops Chris Rigg warning
The Black Cats have already seen interest shown in midfield prospect Rigg this summer, with Premier League and European clubs keeping tabs on the youngster.
As a result, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of the 17-year-old, and it has led to Kristjaan Speakman having to clarify Rigg’s future.
Per the Second Tier Podcast on X, Speakman said: “Look, I think I’ve always been a big believer with young players, we have to be really careful we don’t have to binge on them and oversubscribe to greatness.
“We don’t put a ceiling on where players can get but everybody has to reach their ceiling and for some players that will be the champions league and for some players that will be League Two and Chris [Rigg] has the credentials if you like and the mentality to play at the highest level.
“It’s a difficult move to get there and that’s why so few do it and we’ll do everything in our power whilst he’s with us to be able to enhance that and obviously support him to get to the highest level.
“On the way through, there’ll be people who’ll be sceptical, but the player has to be a dreamer, he has to keep the same mentality he had when he came through the door dreaming about playing for Sunderland and him, Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson are all doing it, which is obviously fantastic.”
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Chris Rigg epitomises the brilliant state of Sunderland
Ever since Speakman, alongside Kyril-Louis Dreyfus, got on board at Wearside, there has been plenty of emphasis on the necessity of nurturing young players and selling on for big money, with that clearly being the priority when it comes to the transfer window.
The Black Cats have been brilliant in bringing youngsters through the ranks, and Rigg perfectly resembles the successes that this strategy implemented by Speakman has brought to the club.
As a side that were stuck in League One, there was little optimism that the following years could see Sunderland once again fighting to get back into the Premier League, however that has certainly proven to not be the case as the current strategies have improved the financial situation of the club, whilst also helping to bring the very best out of the academy.