Sunderland to spark Everton vs West Ham race for Chris Rigg after latest news
Sunderland could now make Chris Rigg available for transfer amid interest from Everton and West Ham following new developments in the transfer market.
Sunderland sealed promotion to the Premier League last season in the play-off final, with Rigg playing a huge part in their success following numerous standout performances throughout the campaign.
At still only 18-years-old, he has been hotly-tipped to become a huge star in the future, with Football Insider revealing midway through last term that Sunderland had placed a £30million price-tag on Rigg’s head amid interest from Real Madrid, Man United and Chelsea.
Former club scout Mick Brown previously told Football Insider that Everton were leading the race for Rigg’s signature, while he has also revealed that Rigg is also of interest to West Ham as they each aim to bolster their midfield options.
The Black Cats’ promotion to the Premier League has largely quashed rumours of his exit this summer, but their new pursuit of an established attacking midfielder could mean Rigg is allowed to move on before the transfer window closes.
Sunderland chasing Leverkusen’s Amine Adli
Regis Le Bris has largely focused on bolstering his midfield options this summer, which has already put versatile Rigg at a disadvantage, with Habib Diarra arriving at the Stadium of Light and Noah Sadiki joining the Black Cats, while Sunderland are set to pull off a coup by signing Granit Xhaka soon.
ESPN journalist Julien Laurens (29 July) has now reported that the Wearside outfit are also interested in signing Xhaka’s teammate, Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Amine Adli, and are competing with Wolves for him.
Leverkusen are reportedly open to letting him go and his priority is to move to England, with Adli currently rated at around £26.2m by the German club [Bild].
Sunderland being able to land a player like Adli, who played 42 times in Bayer’s outstanding double-winning 2023/24 campaign, would be a huge statement of their intent going into the new season, and he would surely be a starter at attacking midfield for Le Bris, after he featured there for the majority of the last campaign under Xabi Alonso [Transfermarkt].
Adli can play on either wing too, but the Black Cats have already brought in Simon Adingra from Brighton and signed Chemsdine Talbi from Club Brugge, who each seem likely to start out wide, so the Moroccan international’s arrival would seemingly push Rigg even further down the pecking order for starts in the top-flight.
Sunderland to sell Rigg if Adli arrives
It would certainly not be a surprise to see the Black Cats land a player of Adli’s talent and status as they close in on signing his Leverkusen teammate Xhaka, and his arrival would surely put the likes of Everton and West Ham on high alert to sign Rigg.
The 18-year-old will want to play relatively regularly in the Premier League after his impressive exploits in the Championship, and so he could force a move out if he is demoted to third-choice attacking midfielder behind Adli and Enzo Le Fee, then even further down Le Bris’ list of options in central midfield following their new signings in that position.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 72 | 7 | 1 |
Sunderland may also want to let Rigg leave for financial reasons, as they have only made one big-money sale this summer with Jobe Bellingham leaving the north east for Borussia Dortmund, and so might need to balance the books further with a current outlay of around €73.4m (£63.5m) so far since they won promotion.
Everton are also in dire need of new signings, with David Moyes wanting 10 new players before the window closes, while West Ham are yet to bolster their aging midfield, and so both clubs are sure to jump at the chance to sign Rigg if he is allowed to leave in the coming weeks.