New Crystal Palace transfer update emerges involving Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg | OneFootball

Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg will be the subject of Premier League transfer interest this summer

Sunderland stars Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg are both on Crystal Palace’s summer transfer shortlist this summer.

According to Football Insider, the Eagles are continuing to scout the Championship for top talent to bring to the Premier League.

Both Bellingham and Rigg have enjoyed strong campaigns in Régis Le Bris’ side, helping the Wearside outfit compete for automatic promotion to the top flight.

And now former scout Mick Brown believes they will be the subject of interest from the London club following their promising performances in the second tier.

Crystal Palace shortlist Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg

Brown has highlighted Palace’s previous success in scouting the Championship, having signed the likes of Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise in the past.

The Premier League outfit most recently acquired exciting winger Romain Esse from Millwall in January, and are now seemingly plotting another raid of the second-tier.

He has claimed Bellingham and Rigg could be their next signings from this level, with Oliver Glasner’s side also showing an interest in Southampton’s Tyler Dibling.

“There are a few players they’ve had scouts looking at,” Brown told Football Insider.

“What Palace will do, and they’ve got a good record of doing it, is they will be keeping a close eye on the Championship and the young players in that division.

“They have to make sure they scout these players thoroughly and from what I hear, Crystal Palace do that.

“These players like the couple of Sunderland lads, Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham and people like him are on their radar – and the lad from Southampton, Dibling.

“It’s a big part of their plan and they’ve had success with it before.

“You look at what they’ve done with players like Eze, [Marc] Guehi, Olise.

“It’s a tried and tested method for them and as long as they keep putting in the work off the field to identify these players, it should continue to pay off.

“So I expect in the summer those three are players they’ll be looking at, and there will probably be more as well who haven’t been mentioned yet.”

Sunderland’s promotion push

Sunderland are still in the mix for a top two spot but find themselves eight points behind second-place Sheffield United.

It is likely that the Black Cats will now have to contend for a return to the Premier League via the play-offs, with patchy recent form and injuries to the likes of Daniel Ballard and Enzo Le Fee leaving their automatic promotion hopes hanging by a thread.

Bellingham has been a key figure in their push at the top-end of the table, though, with the midfielder contributing four goals and three assists from 31 appearances in the league.

Meanwhile, Rigg has scored four times as well from as many games, starting 28 of his 31 appearances.

Next up for Le Bris’ side is a home clash against Cardiff City on 8 March, where they will be hoping to make it consecutive victories after seeing off Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening.

Promotion chase will determine Bellingham and Rigg’s futures

If Sunderland can gain promotion to the Premier League this season, then their negotiating position over Bellingham and Rigg will be extremely strong.

Both players will be much likelier to stay and help establish the club at that level beyond just one year.

However, failure to go up will raise a lot of doubts over their futures at the Stadium of Light, especially Bellingham. It remains to be seen whether the two starlets will be receptive to playing Championship football again next year amid top-flight interest.

Palace will no doubt face competition for both players regardless, with Sunderland likely to make quite a lot of money if either is sold this summer.

Bellingham signed for the club from Birmingham City back in the summer of 2023. Rigg, meanwhile, is a product of the Academy of Light and will therefore be declared as full profit if and when Sunderland cash in on his signature.