Sunderland AFC's ideal Chris Rigg replacement plays for Blackburn Rovers right now | OneFootball

The stats show a strong replacement, and he could be available next summer

Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg is understandably attracting a lot of attention from clubs in the top flight.

Still yet to reach his 18th birthday, the Hebburn-born teenager has already been linked with moves to Manchester United, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle, Liverpool and even the likes of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund abroad.

The Black Cats are flying high at the top of the Championship, but even promotion to the top flight will make holding on to Rigg a difficult ask given the clubs vying for his signature.

A replacement may soon need to be sought but, thankfully, FBref have just the tool to identify a target.

FBref tool identifies ideal Rigg replacement at Blackburn

The stats website has a tool that uses the data it holds to find players with the most similarities.

When using this to find a Chris Rigg replacement, FBref suggest that the player most similar is Blackburn Rovers’ Tyrhys Dolan.

Rigg tends to play slightly deeper than Dolan, with the latter often given more attacking responsibilities in his side, but the pair have remarkably similar stats in both attacking and defensive metrics.

One of the key differences between the pair, likely due to where they operate on the pitch, is Dolan tends to dribble to progress the ball (25 progressive carries this season to Rigg’s 19) whereas Rigg is more likely to seek out a team-mate to pass to (44 progressive passes to Dolan’s 28)

The pair do, however, come in extremely similar in shooting, passing (with Dolan taking greater responsibilities from deadball situations), creative stats (34 shot-creating actions for Rigg compared to 33 for Dolan) and defensive duties (16 tackles for Rigg compared to 17 for Dolan).

As previously mentioned, the key difference between the pair is that Dolan tends to split his time between the middle third and attacking third on the pitch, while Rigg spends more minutes in the middle third.

Sunderland will struggle to hold on to Rigg

That Rigg is managing such strikingly similar stats to a player five years his senior is evidence enough that he’s likely destined for a higher level.

The opportunities that are likely to present themselves to Rigg over the coming months are going to be difficult to turn down.

Even promotion to the Premier League may not be enough to hold him down, especially if he continues to progress on the same trajectory.

But, even though he is still only 17, he has been a vital cog for the Black Cats, starting 13 of their 15 Championship games so far — justifying the minimum £20million price tag that has so far been placed on him.

There’s no debate that, were he to leave, a replacement would need to be sought.

Dolan could be available if Sunderland can hold Rigg for long enough

Not only are Rigg and Dolan very similar players on paper, but the latter’s contract situation will also be of interest to Sunderland.

The latest update, from the Lancashire Telegraph, states that contract talks with Dolan have stalled, with his current deal set to expire in the summer.

It means that if Sunderland can hold on to Rigg until the summer, potentially with a promotion achieved, they would be in a strong position to lure Dolan to the Stadium of Light.

At 22 years old, Dolan is not exactly the same ‘wonderkid’ profile that Rigg is, but has already shown he is a strong talent and will have plenty of seasons ahead of him to improve.

If the Black Cats accept that they’re likely to lose Rigg whatever happens, they may have a perfect cheap replacement in Dolan to step into the breach, allowing them to invest the Rigg funds elsewhere in the squad.