Jobe Bellingham reveals the Sunderland AFC player he's been most impressed with since joining | OneFootball

Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg were both honoured with an award on Sunday night

Jobe Bellingham has praised Chris Rigg’s impact at Sunderland since he joined the club from Birmingham City.

The two youngsters have been standout talents at the Stadium of Light this season, with 17-year-old Rigg cementing himself as a regular part of the first-team squad after breaking into the side last year.

Meanwhile, Bellingham has been a crucial part of the club’s push for promotion to the Premier League under Régis Le Bris.

The pair have both scored four league goals each, with speculation over their futures with the Black Cats both raging on ahead of the summer market.

Jobe Bellingham praises Chris Rigg’s impact at Sunderland AFC

Bellingham has highlighted Rigg as the most exciting young talent at the club, claiming he is fully deserving of the North East Football Writers’ Association award for best young player.

The duo were both given the nod during the ceremony on Sunday night, with the older of the players crediting Rigg as the hardest worker at Sunderland.

“I knew about Riggy before I joined, to be fair,” Bellingham said, via The Northern Echo.

“But he’s the player I’ve been most impressed with since I came to the club.

“Him and the likes of Dan Neil, playing next to people like Riggy and Dan, I’ve seen how good they are, and how hard they work as well, which I must mention about Riggy in particular.

“Every day he trains like he wants to get better, with a great ambition and a great desire.

“That’s the best thing for me, really.

“The talent kind of comes secondary, which he definitely has. But him as a person, he’s always going to keep improving because of that hunger that he’s got.

“For me, they’re the players that you want to be playing with.

“Riggy fully deserves the award, and he’s just got to keep going because he’s on to big things.”

It was reported by Football Insider that Crystal Palace have shortlisted both players ahead of the summer transfer window.

Sunderland are currently fourth in the Championship table, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places with only 11 games remaining in the season.

Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham have so much potential - whether Sunderland see much more of it remains to be seen

Sunderland have built a very exciting squad for this season, and their push for promotion has been a breath of fresh air compared to much more recent Premier League clubs like Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley trading wins.

But of all the talent in Le Bris’ side, it’s Rigg and Bellingham that stand out as the two with the most potential.

The pair will be competing at a top flight level in no time, and their futures could even be decided in the summer if promotion isn’t secured.

Sunderland have earned a great reputation for producing young talent, and this will help them to continue attracting players like Bellingham even after he’s gone, and their academy is also proving fruitful, with Rigg the latest in a long line of talents to be developed at the Academy of Light.

However, whether Sunderland can hold onto Rigg and Bellingham beyond the summer transfer window is a different matter - that will surely rely on what division they are plying their trade in come 2025-26.