According to the Express, Newcastle are in a good position to pinch Chris Rigg from their bitter rivals Sunderland.
What’s the story?
Well, the Magpies have already made an approach to sign the 15-year-old wonderkid, who is rated very highly at the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle have now stepped up their pursuit, and are hopeful of completing a £1m deal for the teenager after scouting him on a number of occasions.
The Express add that Newcastle face competition from Everton for Rigg’s signature, although the Toon Army have one key factor going in their favour.
Interestingly, the report states that the youngster and his family are all Newcastle fans, which has given the Magpies plenty of encouragement to step up their pursuit.
Now, with a solid contract offer on the table, there is huge optimism at St James’ Park that a deal can be done.
Newcastle have already made contact with the Black Cats, as Academy Manager Steve Harper gets in touch with Kristjaan Speakman – Director of Football at Sunderland.
Interest in Rigg comes as Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi aim to ramp up the quality of Newcastle’s youth sides.
Newcastle have already signed 17-year-old Charlie McArthur from Kilmarnock, who was wanted by Liverpool and Manchester City.
Alex Murphy, captain of the Republic of Ireland’s Under-23 side, has also been signed, along with Jordan Hackett-Valton after he was released by Antonio Conte.
Newcastle forced to wait for Sunderland gem
Even if Newcastle convince Rigg to join, they will have to wait until next summer to get their hands on him.
According to the Express, the teenager is tied to Sunderland for the next ten months, where he will then have to decide if he wants to sign a scholar’s contract on Wearside, or join Newcastle instead.
One thing is for certain – if Newcastle pinch Sunderland’s biggest talent, they would have yet another bragging right over their bitter rivals.
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