Marco Gabbiadini has fired a warning to Sunderland’s teen star Chris Rigg, following his impressive start to the campaign.
Sunderland currently sit in 1st place of the Championship table after the opening nine games under manger Regis Le Bris.
And whilst Le Bris is earning plaudits, there’s arguably more talk about Chris Rigg at the Stadium of Light right now.
The club’s academy gem has become a regular starter for the Black Cats this season, having started the last eight games in the Championship, scoring twice.
Rigg netted in the 2-2 draw against Leeds United last time out and scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough last month.
Also last month, Real Madrid were linked with Rigg, with Borussia Dortmund also thought to be tracking the 17-year-old.
Manchester United have also been linked with Rigg and the Red Devils could even make their move in the January transfer window.
Marco Gabbiadini fires warning to ‘chirpy’ Chris Rigg at Sunderland
Speaking on Total Sport, Marco Gabbiadini and the likes of fellow BBC pundit Nick Barnes were discussing Rigg, and his maturity at 17.
Rigg speaks very well. He not only plays with maturity but he seems to hold his own in the media, suggesting that he’s not a shy person.
But Gabbiadini has warned Rigg about how his ‘outward-going personality’ could lead to frictions with his teammates, if it becomes overly so.
The former Sunderland striker said: “If he’s got an outward-going personality, that doesn’t mean that everybody who can be as good as him has to have that personality, he just happens to have that personality.
“That’s good. He sounds like he’s chirpy, and communicates in the dressing room. But that can manifest itself in lots of different ways.
“If he’s starting to pull the team about and give people ideas of what they should be doing on the pitch, that might not go down too well.”
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Chris Rigg’s stats for Sunderland so far this season
What goes on behind the scenes remains to be seen. And if Rigg’s personality was becoming overbearing then Le Bris would no doubt pull him aside.
But from what we’ve seen of Rigg off the pitch, he comes across very well. And what we’re seeing on it is also very impressive.
Rigg averages the 10th-most accurate passes-per-game of any Sunderland player (16.7), the eighth-most key passes-per-game (0.7), and the fourth-most dribbles-per-game (1).
Rigg also averages one tackle-per-game, which is the eighth-highest in the team, showcasing his ability to get stuck and do the work off the ball as well as on it.