Exclusive: £80m transfer claim made on Sunderland AFC duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has issued the price-tag that he expects the Black Cats to demand this summer for Bellingham and Rigg

Former footballer and current EFL pundit Lee Hendrie has placed a price-tag of between £40 million to £45 million each on talented Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg ahead of a potential summer move away from the Stadium of Light for either player, after links to big clubs in windows gone by.

Sunderland have been the surprise package at the top of the Championship this season, and young midfield pair Bellingham and Rigg have been key to their success, with a play-off place beckoning, but automatic promotion unlikely at this stage.

They will undoubtedly continue to play a huge part in Regis Le Bris' side over the next few months, but a possible exit for either looks to be on the horizon in the summer if they fail to go up to the Premier League. They have each been linked with high-profile moves since fully emerging in the Black Cats' senior team over the last 18 months.

Lee Hendrie makes £80m combined Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg summer price-tag prediction

Bellingham joined Sunderland in 2023 from boyhood club Birmingham City, and he plays well beyond his years at 19-years-old. He has been touted to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Jude, in becoming a top talent at the highest level at some point in his career, but for now it is Sunderland that get to benefit from his outstanding midfield ability until at least the end of this season.

Central midfield partner Rigg, meanwhile, joined the Black Cats' academy set-up while he was still in primary school, and his rapid ascent to the senior side saw him begin to train with the first-team when he was just 15-years-old, and he became the second-youngest player in the club's history when he made his debut in January 2023.

Both players are now first-team regulars, and each of their performances have gone up another level altogether this term. They have both earned huge plaudits throughout English football for their respective standout showings in Sunderland's promotion charge.

Ex-professional and current EFL pundit Lee Hendrie believes that Sunderland would demand fees of upwards of £40m each for Bellingham and Rigg, if they were to sell either this summer, but is unsure whether any club would pay such a figure for players that have not yet featured above the second-tier.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Hendrie said: “It’s massive, because these two are very talented young players who have every chance of going and being even better.

“The problem is obviously the establishment of where they actually can achieve playing. That’s the big thing. Until they’ve proven that they are capable of playing in the Premier League, and are worthy of playing Premier League football, that’s where the price-tag extends.

“Being in the Championship, which is one of the toughest leagues, it’s a completely different prospect. They’re still worth their weight in gold, for sure.

“You look at those who have gone on to be top Premier League players and have played in the Championship, the likes of Jack Grealish, James Maddison. There is so many that you can label that have gone on to brilliant things.

“For their first fees, you’ve got to be talking around the £40m mark, you would say, for each of these players.

“They’re very different in the way they play. Jobe Bellingham has got that physicality, he can get from midfield into the box to score goals, where Chris Rigg has got that great elegance when playing, and of picking out that pass.

“They’re very young players too, so I’m sure that Sunderland will be wanting around that £40 million mark for each of them. It’s just, would they get that at this current time? That’s the big question.

“I think future-wise, that’s where the big fees come in for these sorts of players, but there is always the add-ons too. It’s a tricky one, but I’m sure that they will want big money for both Bellingham and Rigg, because they are pivotal in the way they play.”

Bellingham and Rigg have numerous suitors from the Premier League and abroad ahead of the summer

Sunderland have done brilliantly in the Championship this season, with boss Le Bris able to transform their fortunes and make them into a real force throughout the campaign. After recent losses to Leeds United and Hull City, however, it does look as if they will have to settle for a spot in the play-offs rather than win automatic promotion to the top-flight.

Those play-offs would, of course, be vital for a myriad of reasons, but not least due to the futures of the likes of both Bellingham and Rigg. Both have more-than-proven their Championship credentials, and it does seem unlikely that they would want to play in the second-tier for another year if the club does not go up this time around.

Rigg has previously earned interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, while HITC revealed earlier in the season that he had rejected offers from the Red Devils and Newcastle United, and his improved form this season has reportedly seen him garner further attention from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

The race for the 17-year-old's services is definitely set to heat up as the summer beckons, and Crystal Palace are the latest top-flight side to be linked with a move for him and teammate Bellingham, who has also been of reported interest to Arsenal, Manchester United and Dortmund.

While Sunderland would undoubtedly love to keep both players on their books for as long as possible, it does feel like an almost foregone conclusion that they will lose their services ahead of next season if they are not playing Premier League football.