Sunderland AFC: One winner and one loser if Chris Rigg is sold to Man Utd in January | OneFootball

The Red Devils' interest in one Sunderland man could have differing impacts on various members of the Black Cats' squad

There are still three months until the January transfer window, but Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg is already the focus of much speculation, amid links with Manchester United.

It has been an incredible rise for the 17-year-old, who, even at this early stage of his career, has emerged as a key player in the Black Cats' first-team.

With Regis Le Bris' side making an early push for the top spots in the Championship this season, and Rigg making some big contributions, that has added to the talk around the future of the teenager.

According to recent reports from TalkSport, United are now set to step up their pursuit of Rigg ahead of the January window, as they look to beat other Premier League sides to his signing.

It would, of course, be a big blow for Sunderland to lose such a talent and influential player at such an early stage of his career.

Beyond that, though, the departure of Rigg would surely have a knock-on effect on other members of the playing squad currently on the books at The Stadium of Light.

So with that in mind, we've taken a look at one potential winner, and one potential loser at Sunderland, if they do sell Rigg to Manchester United in January.

Winner: Milan Aleksic

Having joined the Black Cats back in the summer transfer window from Radnicki in his native Serbia, it has arguably been a somewhat frustrating start to life at the Stadium of Light for Milan Aleksic.

The 19-year-old featured regularly to help his former club qualify for the Europa Conference League last season.

As a result, he may have also been hoping to get game time for Sunderland immediately after completing his move to the Championship this summer.

So far though, he is yet to make his competitive debut for the club, instead being forced to settle for a place on the bench up until now.

However, if Rigg was to depart for Manchester United in the summer, there would be a void left in the centre of the park needing to be filled for the Black Cats.

Since he is already on the books at the club, Aleksic would no doubt hope that he would be given the opportunity to take over that role for Sunderland.

With the experience he already has, he may also back himself to take that chance, meaning he is one who may see Rigg's potential as a chance to kickstart his own career with the club.

Loser: Jobe Bellingham

Of course, Riggs is not the only Black Cats player to have been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent times.

In the summer, it was reported Crystal Palace had been working on a deal to sign Jobe Bellingham, with Brentford also said to have had a £20million bid rejected for the attacking midfielder.

The chance to move to the Premier League is one that will, of course, appeal to just about any player, given the rewards it brings with it.

That may be particularly the case for Bellingham too, given the success and profile his brother Jude is building for himself with Real Madrid and England.

However, if Sunderland do sell Rigg in January, it is hard to imagine they will want to lose another of their key players, such as the 19-year-old.

Indeed, with the money they could bring in from his sale to Manchester United, it is unlikely there would then be any financial pressure on them to sell another key man either.

That is particularly the case given there is still time remaining on his contract with Sunderland. So if Rigg does leave, it could raise some questions for Bellingham about his own immediate future.