Liverpool hope to sign Chris Rigg, a record-breaking midfielder. The adolescent is currently in high demand across Europe.
According to the Sunderland Echo, Liverpool is one of the clubs interested in signing Chris Rigg this summer. Rigg is still only 16, but he has already appeared in 11 professional games for Sunderland.
Not only that, but the adolescent has smashed several records. He is both Sunderland’s all-time youngest goalscorer and the EFL Cup’s youngest goalscorer.
The fact that he is a midfielder rather than a striker adds to his exceptional performance.
However, at the age of 16, such talent inevitably piques the notice of others. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich are among the clubs interested in signing Rigg.
Rigg’s intentions, however, remain unclear. His scholarship with Sunderland expires this summer, and he may join anybody he wants, with any new team only having to pay a tribunal fee to get him.
There is speculation, however, that Rigg may regard regular football at Sunderland as more valuable than youth football at an elite club. It means that, despite the attraction, the 16-year-old may choose to stay where he is.
It’s a huge decision for him, then. Rigg’s choice won’t make or break his career, and there will be just as much attention in him next year, but he does have an opportunity here that few kids receive.
Liverpool have signed several players like this over the years. The most notable right now is Harvey Elliott, who played professional football for Fulham when he was 16 and then transferred to Anfield via tribunal.
This would be a very similar situation, then. The fact that Elliott has subsequently made it into Liverpool’s first team is a positive in this sense; Rigg can easily see the road.
However, Jurgen Klopp is leaving in the summer, and it is unclear whether that road would continue under an unknown new manager.
