Their new Barkley: Everton line up move for “special” £38m wonderkid
Everton have a talented crop of young players at the club, which David Moyes can use to build a squad that can compete higher up the Premier League in the years to come, in the new stadium Bramley-Moore Dock.
Some of those young talents include Portuguese striker Youssef Chermiti, although he has struggled to get game time this season, and midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, who signed from Aston Villa in June.
There are some more experienced young players at Moyes’ disposal, too. Those include defender Jake O’Brien, who is 23 years of age, and James Garner, the 24-year-old midfielder. Talismanic attacker Iliman Ndiaye is still just 25.
Incredibly, Everton are targeting a summer move for another young superstar who has been tipped for big things.
Everton looking at signing EFL star
With the new era at Bramley-Moore set to get underway in just a matter of months, the hierarchy, which will include new arrival Angus Kinnear, will be drawing up a list of transfer targets. What might the squad look like in that new stadium? Perhaps this young gem will be part of the new era.
Few players across the Premier League and in the EFL are rated as highly as Chris Rigg. The 17-year-old is on the shopping list of several sides across the top flight of England, and it seems Sunderland face an uphill battle to keep him at the club.
According to a report from Sky Sports, the Toffees are believed to be ‘among the clubs tracking’ Rigg, who is an established player for Sunderland already. The report suggests that the Toffees want the midfielder because he ‘he fits the profile of what they are looking for’.
However, they are not the only club interested this summer. Fellow Premier League outfit West Ham are also interested, as per Sky Sports, as are clubs abroad.
According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur have already placed a bid worth £38m.
Why Rigg could be a good signing
The Sunderland midfielder, who does not turn 18 until the season is over, has been a key player for the Black Cats this term. In 36 appearances across all competitions this term, he has scored four goals and grabbed one assist. That’s quite incredible for a teenager.
One of those strikes was a stunning match-winner against Middlesbrough in a huge clash in the North East.
Pouncing on a loose ball in the box, the midfielder somehow managed to fire into an empty Boro net from an acute angle. It was a finish which showcased his technical quality.
Rigg’s numbers over the past two seasons, via Squawka, show just how consistently he performs on a weekly basis.
For example, this term, he has created 1.3 chances and made 3.9 ball recoveries per game, compared to 0.9 chances created and the same number of ball recoveries per game last term.
| Rigg key stats over last 2 Championship seasons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat (per 90) | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
| Chances created | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Forward passes | 7.8 | 7 |
| Take-ons completed | 1.6 | 1.2 |
| Interceptions | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Ball recoveries | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| Stats from Squawka | ||
One of the most exciting things about Rigg is his versatility. The England U19 international, who scored over the international break, is able to play anywhere in midfield, although he excels as a number 10. This term, he has even played out wide on the right and as a centre-forward.
Should Rigg sign for the Toffees, he could burst onto the top-flight scene in a similar way to another midfielder in Ross Barkley. Barkley was also a youngster when he made his Everton debut, just 17 years of age when he first broke into the first-team at Goodison.
In total, the Merseysider scored 27 times and grabbed 25 assists in 179 games for his boyhood club.
One of the most iconic moments from Barkley in a Toffees shirt came against Bournemouth in a 5-0 win at home, where he scored the fifth of the game and celebrated his goal before he put the ball in an empty net.
Football presenter and Sunderland supporter Dougie Critchley thinks highly of Rigg, explaining that he thinks the teenager is a “special” talent and “has potential to be a Premier League star”. Thus, if he could get anywhere close to replicating Barkley’s impact in a Toffees shirt, he will have done very well.
Indeed, the similarities are there, given their age and versatility in midfield, although preferring to play as a number 10.
For a fee in the region of £38m, this could be a brilliant addition for Everton this summer.
