Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has had his say on the sides hunting to sign Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg.
As we enter the business end of the season, Sunderland have been left fighting battles both on-and-off the pitch.
Regis Le Bris’ side have struggled for form in recent weeks, and many will be hoping that he has used the international break to rejuvenate his ranks and get them back to the top of their game.
However, Sunderland’s main concern right now isn’t the form on the pitch, but is more centred around the several Premier League sides circling to sign the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, and Dan Neil.
Most recently, Bellingham has been linked to Nottingham Forest, whilst Rigg and Neil have attracted interest from West Ham.
Despite the clubs fighting over Sunderland’s top midfielders, Black Cats boss Le Bris has calmed the storm with his recent comments, but labels one thing that is ‘not easy’.
- READ MORE: Sunderland risk losing ‘very important’ player for Regis Le Bris as Italian giants Roma pursue star
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has ‘no worries’ over Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg interest
In Le Bris’ pre-match press conference, with Sunderland set to take on Millwall on Saturday, attention turned momentarily away from the game against Alex Neil’s side and more on the flurry of interest in his top players.
Having been asked about any formal interest in Rigg, per Sunderland Echo, Le Bris shrugged it to the side and said: “Not at all.”
“But it’s positive for the club, it’s positive for Riggy as well because it shows that he did well so far and he’s really well connected with Sunderland, so for me his main focus will be with us, no worries.”
Le Bris then touched on Bellingham’s links away from the club, where he added: “I think they are really mature, they are young but really mature because they didn’t show so far any weaknesses about their involvement in the club project.”
“I think for young players it’s not obvious, it’s not easy because if you lose just one second in your mind the consequences on the pitch will be huge, and so far they were still connected so they are really impressive.”
Black Cats youngsters’ frame of mind is remarkable for their age
Countless times, you see players’ heads swaying amid interest from teams, particularly when they are in the Premier League, and this is understandably much more likely when it revolves around a younger player who wants to be fast-tracked towards stardom.
However, that has not been the case with both Bellingham and Rigg, which meant that Le Bris was able to allude to being very calm surrounding the situation.
The last thing that Sunderland would want at this stage of the season is for players to become restless and be thinking about their next club; and the two youngsters certainly deserve praise for going about their job and not reading into the speculation.