Football League World
·2 October 2024
Football League World
·2 October 2024
Sunderland fan pundit offers his opinion on Birmingham City's reported interest in Chris Rigg
This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
League One highflyers Birmingham City are plotting a surprise move worth £10m for Sunderland starlet Chris Rigg, who is thriving at the top end of the Championship under new Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris.
That's according to The Sun, who claim that the Blues are set to go head-to-head with Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool to secure the services of the talented 17-year-old come the January transfer window.
Chris Davies' side, bankrolled by US backers including NFL legend Tom Brady, already flexed their financial muscles during the summer, with the addition of Jay Stansfield from Fulham, in a deal worth £15m, as per Sky Sports.
Football League World's Black Cats fan pundit, Eddy Bamber, said: "There's no chance of Chris Rigg going to Birmingham for £10m, regardless of what league they're in.
"There's more chance of them building and filling a 60,000 seater stadium than this signing coming off.
"You've got to respect their ambition, but there's just a lot of pie in the sky stuff going on with Birmingham.
"The only way that Chris Rigg is going to go is up, and I dare say that a team like Man United are going to come in and offer a lot more than £10m.
"If Rigg carries on the way he's been going for the rest of this season, we'll be getting an offer of at least £30m in the summer, I would have thought."
As alluded to by Eddy, the Blues don't seem likely to sign Rigg in January, despite the fact that they are displaying admirable ambition in the transfer market.
The teenager is currently playing a key role for a Black Cats outfit who flew out of the blocks in the Championship with four consecutive wins, including a 4-0 hammering over Sheffield Wednesday, and a 1-0 victory over Burnley, who plied their trade in the Premier League last campaign.
September brought a couple of setbacks for Le Bris and co, as they stumbled to defeat against both early season strugglers Plymouth Argyle and fellow promotion hopefuls Watford, but on the whole, the north-east outfit have been one of the best sides in the early exchanges of the second tier.
Meanwhile, the Blues have been living up to their status as favourites to win promotion from League One back to the Championship at the first time of asking.
However, despite the impressive performances which have been on show from the West Midlands side, Rigg is unlikely to swap the Black Cats' quest for Premier League football for the Blues' bid to re-join the second tier.
At just 17 years old, the midfield ace is an exciting talent, while if he does leave the Stadium of Light during the January transfer window, he appears far more likely to join a top-flight outfit than to move to St Andrew's, especially amid reported interest from both Liverpool and Manchester United.
Furthermore, the Black Cats will be keen on retaining Rigg's services for as long as possible, and the Blues' potential offer of £10m may not be enough to convince his current club to cash in on him.
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