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Sunderland Star Rejected Manchester United and Newcastle to Sign New Contract

Originally posted on Sunderland on SI | By Manuel Meza | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 3:03 AM ET

Sunderland have done an impeccable job in the present transfer window, not only in terms of signings, but also in contract extensions.

Although the Wearside club still plans to make more signings, the board also continues working on keeping their best talents in the team.

Among the contract extensions that Sunderland have already closed are those of midfielder Dan Neil and full-back Trai Hume.

Now, the team led by Regis Le Bris has moved away another of their young talents from a pair of big Premier League clubs.

Sunderland star rejected Manchester United and Newcastle to sign new contract

Sunderland have confirmed, through an official statement on their website, the contract extension of Chris Rigg until 2030.

"Sunderland AFC is delighted to announce that Chris Rigg has signed a new long-term contract at the Stadium of Light."

Rigg, 18, has an estimated market value of €20 million (around £17.3 million), and this summer he generated interest from several clubs in Europe.

After signing the renewal of his contract, Rigg made it clear that his ambition was to stay at Sunderland.

"It feels great to sign this new contract. There was only ever one ambition I had, and that was to agree a long-term deal here."

To this great news is added a report from the Sunderland Echo, in which they assure that Rigg rejected all the approaches from different clubs to stay at his formative club.

"Rigg was once again the subject of genuine interest from several top-level Premier League clubs and leading European sides over the summer, with exploratory conversations taking place between those clubs and the player’s camp."

The cited outlet explained that, in any case, the young midfielder rejected the possibility of leaving the club, and that his decision was based above all on "his connection to the club and its supporters."

Although the Sunderland Echo report does not specify the clubs that were interested in Rigg, during the present transfer window various media gave clues about it.

According to Chronicle Live, the young player captured the interest of Manchester United, Newcastle and Everton.

This article first appeared on Sunderland on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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