Newcastle United made checks on one Sunderland player during the Black Cats’ Championship clash vs QPR on Saturday.
Saturday saw Sunderland take on QPR at the Stadium of Light, playing out a rather drab 0-0 draw but ending a run of six-straight defeats in the process.
Anthony Patterson shone that day, pulling off a number of impressive saves to keep the score at 0-0, earning praise from Mike Dodds after the game.
But there were arguably no other impressive performances to talk about on the day.
It was another lacklustre performance from Sunderland and a poor affair to watch as a neutral, with the Black Cats failing to register a single shot on target against relegation candidates QPR.
Newcastle United scout Sunderland starlet Chris Rigg
The QPR game also saw Chris Rigg getting some more game time.
The 16-year-old has been featuring more and more prominently over the past few weeks, making his full league debut against Leicester City and thoroughly impressing.
But Rigg earned criticism for giving away a rash penalty against Southampton and then started on the bench against QPR, coming on for the final 35 minutes.
Since, it’s been revealed by Chronicle Live that Sunderland’s north-east rivals Newcastle United sent senior scout Mick Tait to watch over Rigg that day.
Sunderland Echo gave Rigg a 6/10 rating against QPR, with journalist Phil Smith writing that the teenager ‘brought some energy on the right wing and showed one or two good touches’.
Transfer interest in Chris Rigg at Sunderland
This isn’t the first time Newcastle United have been linked with Rigg; they tried and failed to sign the Hebburn-born attacker last year.
And there’s other teams who’ve been reported to be interested in Rigg, with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United keen, along with Bayern Munich.
What is Chris Rigg’s contract situation
Rigg remains only 16 years old and so he’s not yet eligible to sign a professional contract with Sunderland.
He’s currently on a scholarship deal but turns 17 in June, and it’s reported that Rigg and Sunderland have an agreement in place for Rigg to then sign a pro contract with the Black Cats.
Rigg is apparently keen on staying at Sunderland where he’s now being given regular game time at first-team level.
Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus can’t cash in on Rigg just yet
With Sunderland struggling of late, there’s a growing sense that the club will have to make some pretty drastic changes in the summer.
A new manager will be at the top of their to do list and they might yet have to pay compensation to get the right man in.
And with the playing squad being exposed in recent weeks, or more a lack of experience being exposed, there’ll surely be some spending on players too.
The likely sale of Jack Clarke will help towards that, and Rigg could be another player who is sold on; if the deal is right.
The worst possible scenario for Sunderland would be to lose Rigg before he turns 17 and signs a pro contract, as it would surely be for a very small compensation fee.
But the Black Cats seem to be doing everything right with regards to Rigg; there’s an agreement in place for him to sign a pro deal which hopefully comes into play, and Rigg is witnessing first-hand that the club are ready to show faith in him and give him plenty of game time.
At Newcastle or another Premier League club, it would surely mean a return to youth football for Rigg, which may not be appetising no matter how much he’d be paid.
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