Sunderland players celebrate Sunderland's Jobe Bellingham's second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Rotherham United at the Stadium Of Light, Sunderland on Saturday 19th August 2023. (Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Newcastle United scout checked on Sunderland gem over weekend, he put in 6/10 display
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.
