*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:53, 14 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:04, 12 October 2024 (UTC)
Born in Hebburn,[2] Rigg joined Sunderland while still in primary school.[2]
Sunderland
With Sunderland facing numerous injuries in their squad, Rigg was named on the bench for the EFL Championship game against Blackpool on 1 January 2023.[3] Less than a week later, he was again named on the bench, alongside fellow young player Tom Watson, for an FA Cup third round game against Shrewsbury Town, with manager Tony Mowbray saying Rigg was "really impressive", having watched him train with the first team.[4]
Rigg made his professional debut in the game against Shrewsbury Town on 7 January 2023, coming on as a substitute for Édouard Michut in a 2–1 win.[5] In doing so, he became the second youngest player in Sunderland history, behind Derek Forster.[4] Following his debut, he was promoted to the Sunderland first team, having to train with the squad only one or two days a week, as he was still in school at the time.[6] Rigg's second appearance came in the following round of the FA Cup against Fulham, replacing Patrick Roberts in the 86th minute. In injury time, with the score at 1–1, he received a cut back from Abdoullah Ba before firing a shot into the roof of the Fulham net, only to have the goal disallowed due to Ba being offside.[7]
He scored his first competitive goal for Sunderland in an EFL Cup tie against Crewe Alexandra on 8 August 2023.[8] With this goal, he not only became Sunderland's youngest ever goalscorer, but also the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history.[9] On 2 September, Rigg scored on his league debut against Southampton, netting the final goal in a 5–0 home win.[10] In doing so he became Sunderland's youngest ever league goalscorer, breaking a record held by Jimmy Hamilton for over half a century.[11]
Rigg's back-heeled goal against Middlesbrough on 21 September 2024 earnt him the EFL Championship Goal of the Month award for September 2024.[12]
International career
Rigg has represented England at youth international level.[1] He captained England at under-16 level, before being promoted to the under-17 squad while still only fifteen.[2] He made his England U18 debut during a 1-1 draw with Belgium in Marbella on 11 October 2023.[13]
On 2 November 2023, Rigg was included in the England squad for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[14] He played his first game of the competition as a starter against Iran, winning the game 2-1.[15] Rigg came off the bench as a substitute in their next group game against Brazil and then started in the round of sixteen defeat against Uzbekistan.[16][17]
