Premier League club preparing £20m transfer swoop for Birmingham City linked wonderkid

Birmingham City's chances of signing Sunderland wonderkid Chris Rigg may have taken a blow, after a Premier League club's intentions were revealed.

Towards the end of September, Blues were linked with an audacious swoop for the teenager who is the talk of the Championship. They face stiff competition from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United for his signature, and Sunderland won’t give up their player easily.

It's now emerged that according to The Sun, Crystal Palace will be making an offer of around £20m plus add-ons for the 17-year-old. Eagles scouts have been in attendance at several Sunderland games this season, and apparently sporting director Dougie Freedman is convinced he's good enough to play in the Premier League.

A move could be made as early as January, having signed England international Adam Wharton from Blackburn Rovers for £18m in January this year.

Rigg is under contract at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2027, having signed a new contract this summer. He's missed just one league game this season, and has started 13 out of the 14 games he's been available for, finding himself on the score sheet three times. Rigg has also been entrusted with the captains armband with the England under-18 team, and has already made 36-caps at age-grade level for the Three Lions.

In mid-October, Sunderland’s director of football Kristjaan Speakman, who was also previously the academy manager at Birmingham, addressed the reported interest in their prized asset. He believes that the fact there are clubs lining up to sign Rigg is a compliment to the work the current Championship league leaders are doing.

"The interest is always a backhanded compliment,” said Speakman who was appearing on the Second Tier Podcast.

"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."