Kristjaan Speakman explains Sunderland's Chris Rigg stance amid Birmingham City, Man Utd links | OneFootball

Speakman spoke out on Rigg's future at the Stadium of Light, amid the teenager's links to other teams.

Kristjaan Speakman has explained that Sunderland will take "every decision, every event as it comes" concerning Chris Rigg amid links to Birmingham City, Manchester United and Liverpool.

These comments, made on the Second Tier Podcast, have been made amid speculation about the midfielder's future at the Stadium of Light.

Rigg has become a key first-teamer on Wearside under Regis Le Bris this term, with the Black Cats' current manager giving the 17-year-old the opportunity to shine regularly in the Championship.

The rising star has been able to repay Le Bris' faith, scoring in games against Middlesbrough and Leeds United to help the Wearside club win extra points.

At this stage, the Black Cats are currently at the top of the second-tier table and with this in mind, plenty of their players are likely to be attracting interest from other teams at this point.

Naturally, Jobe Bellingham will be in the spotlight, with his older brother Jude now one of the best players in the world. Jobe is also thriving at the SoL at this point - and deserves attention regardless of his relatives.

However, Rigg is tipped to be just as successful as Jobe in the future, if not more successful, and plenty of teams have been linked with a move for him in recent months.

Kristjaan Speakman speaks out on Chris Rigg exit links

Manchester United and Liverpool, two of the most high-profile teams in England, have recently been linked with a move for the player, along with Everton.

The Red Devils' interest in the player isn't a huge surprise considering one of their key recruitment figures, Jason Wilcox, was at Southampton last term and would have had an eye on their second-tier opponents.

League One side Birmingham City'sinterest is slightly more of a surprise, considering they are currently in the third tier and have already forked out a sizeable amount for Jay Stansfield recently.

Speaking about the interest in Rigg, the Black Cats' sporting director Speakman told the Second Tier Podcast (quotes via the Northern Echo): "The interest is always a backhanded compliment.

"Would we rather have a team full of talent where everyone is talking about buying and trading our players, or would we rather have a group that no one's really interested in? I think it's not a hard question to answer.

"So, we try to put ourselves in the right position around our contracts and how we manage our squad, etc. We try to provide that opportunity. We try to ensure that we're aligned with the players.

"I think I've always said that sometimes players will progress faster than the club and there'll be another opportunity for them. We have to respect that.

"We lost young Jack (Clarke) in the summer and he moved on to Ipswich, which I think is the way that the football system works. I don't think we have any issues with that.

"We'll just take every decision, every event as it comes, and try to deal with it appropriately."

Timing will be key for Sunderland in terms of Chris Rigg's future

It seems inevitable that Rigg will leave the Stadium of Light at some point if he can continue to develop at his current pace.

Already comfortable with life in the English second tier, he will make the move up to the Premier League sooner rather than later.

He could potentially step up to the top tier with the Black Cats, who could find themselves competing at the top level again at some point.

But if he can fulfil his potential, he will probably end up leaving Wearside for another team.

The Black Cats won't want to lose him too soon but they also need to make sure they get the highest possible amount for him.