Manchester United pulled off a major coup at academy level this summer with the deal to sign striker Chido Obi-Martin from Arsenal, with the move officially ratified by the Premier League last week.

It is the latest deal for a promising teenager that United have pulled off in recent years and under academy head Nick Cox and head of academy recruitment Luke Fedorenko have earned a reputation for convincing the hottest properties in the game that their dreams can be achieved at Carrington.

Cox and Fedorenko are well aware of the young players on the market and United have long kept tabs on another teenager who seems destined for the top. They have been scouting 17-year-old Chris Rigg since he was 14 and the queue of clubs watching the Sunderland midfielder now is significant.

Rigg was attracting interest from around Europe this summer before signing a professional contract with the Black Cats and that decision has been justified. His exposure to first-team football is fast-tracking his improvement and his impudent backheel goal against Middlesbrough last week went viral.

He has played 32 senior games for Sunderland and 27 of them have been in the Championship. That is an excellent learning curve and a path that isn’t too dissimilar to Jude Bellingham, who thrived for being thrown in at the deep end by Birmingham City.

Rigg has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League and while Sunderland look like contenders for promotion this season, the midfielder who doesn’t turn 18 until next June looks destined for the very top. United have been linked with him and a departure from the Stadium of Light could be in the offing next summer.

United will be far from the only club to show an interest and if they do make a move, this presentation will be about more than an academy pathway. Rigg will want to be in the first-team squad.

That the club is earning a reputation for developing young players (Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer in midfield, for example) and convincing youngsters that Old Trafford is the best place for them, could work in their favour, however. Showing a player that you have been tracking them since they were 14 will also be a positive.

Rigg is likely to have his pick clubs and United could always decide they are better off spending their cash elsewhere. But a club who is getting right more often than not with the recruitment of young players this summer has to stand a good chance if they do firm up their interest.