Chris Mepham: Chris Rigg is 'defying' his age

Defender Chris Mepham has heaped praise on young midfielder Chris Rigg.

Rigg grabbed the headlines at the weekend scoring an audacious matchwinner against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light to hand the Lads a 1-0 victory. The 17-year-old has also started in five out of six league games this season.

Mepham himself made his full debut in the Lads' weekend win over Boro keeping a clean sheet in the process but it's the midfielder who has received a glowing review from one of his newest teammates.

Rigg has certainly caught the eye of the Welsh international. “He is miles beyond his age,” he said a recent talk-in at the Stadium of Light. 

“If someone was to say that he is 17 then I would be amazed because of the way that he carries himself day in and day out. He defies his age. 

“When you see him on the pitch. He is so composed and he always wants the ball. He’s also a really good kid. He’ll have an amazing career and I am looking forward to seeing how he progresses.”

Whilst Rigg was singled out for his conduct around the Academy of Light, Mepham admits that he’s been impressed by the performances of the entire squad. 

He continued: “One thing I noticed coming into training straight away was the hunger in the team. You’ve got a young group and everyone is striving to be better.

“Whether that’s in the gym or on the training pitch. Even away from the training ground, the lads are doing stuff together and that is only going to help you when you get on the pitch. This will all help drive the Club in a direction that it wants to go in.”

All nine summer signings took part in a talk-in at the Stadium of Light last week. You can watch the full video below.