Sunderland starlet Chris Rigg has signed a two-year scholarship with the club, having turned 16 just over three weeks ago.
The teenager was free to sign for any club but chose Sunderland over the likes of Manchester United and the club his family support, Newcastle United.
The England youth international has been persuaded by Sunderland's pathway for young players to break into the team. Rigg became the club's youngest ever outfield player when he came on against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup at 15 years old, before making two appearances against Premier League Fulham. At Craven Cottage he actually scored what we all thought was a late winner but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
A scholarship contract means that any club interested in the young talent must agree a fee with Sunderland. This may seem obvious but until this point he has been free to sign for any other club. A minimal compensation package would have been agreed through the Elite Player Performance Plan.
He can leave for free at the end of the two years but, significantly, a fee would be set via tribunal which takes into account the investment Sunderland have put into Rigg, and potentially reward the Black Cats should he go on to further success.
It is almost certain that Sunderland will look to offer Rigg his first professional contract at the earliest possible stage, which will be when he turns 17 next summer.
It wasn't only Rigg that has been signed though, there is another eight lads joining him:
Aaron Chung
Ben Kindon
Ben Metcalf
Daniel Parker
Jack Whittaker
Jaydon Jones
Matthew Young
Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi
Academy Manager, Robin Nicholls had this to say on all the scholars: “Although they have a long way to go, we are excited by the potential that the group have displayed both collectively and individually over several seasons now. They have regularly been one of the most exciting Academy teams to watch and several have been recognised through selection for youth international squads. We are delighted to secure them as scholars with the Club and look forward to seeing how they develop over the next few seasons.”
