The Sunderland midfielders are two of the most highly-rated young prospects in the country and have been repeatedly linked with possible moves away from the Stadium of Light.
Their futures will no doubt be addressed in the summer, but for now, both teenagers remain wholeheartedly committed to the job in hand, which is trying to help the Black Cats secure promotion.
They will be part of the squad that hosts Millwall at the Stadium of Light tomorrow afternoon, with Le Bris having been impressed with the duo’s ability to completely ignore any external chatter despite their youth and lack of experience.
“They are really mature,” said the Sunderland boss. “They are young, but really mature. They didn’t show any weaknesses so far about their involvement in the club project.
“For young players, it is not always that easy because if you lose just one second with your mind, the consequences on the pitch will be huge. So far, they have stayed really connected and that has been really impressive.”
Rigg has been the focus of renewed attention during the international break, with Tottenham having become the latest Premier League club to be heavily linked with a potential summer approach.
Manchester United and Newcastle United made approaches last summer before Rigg signed his first professional contract on Wearside, and are expected to be interested parties again come the end of the season, with Le Bris seeing the mounting Premier League interest as a positive rather than a negative for all concerned.
“It is positive for the club and positive for Riggy as well because it shows that he did well so far,” he said. “He is really well connected with Sunderland, so for me, his main focus will be with us, and I have no worries.”
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Rigg scored a match winner on his debut for England Under-19s last week, dispatching Spurs youngster Mikey Moore’s cross to secure a 1-0 victory over Portugal.
Bellingham was on international duty with England Under-21s, while another of Sunderland’s young attacking midfielders, Milan Aleksic, was also away with Serbia’s Under-21s.
Aleksic played the opening 70 minutes of a 2-0 win over Bosnia and the final 45 minutes of a 3-1 defeat to Georgia, giving him some much-needed game time after a frustrating few months on Wearside.
The 19-year-old has made just one start and three substitute appearances in the Championship since joining Sunderland from Radnicki, but Le Bris still feels he could have an important role to play in the remainder of the season.
“I spoke with Milan this morning,” said Le Bris. “He’s struggled for probably the last couple of months because he hasn’t had many opportunities and was a bit disconnected. That’s a normal dynamic for a young player, especially abroad.
“He still has good qualities. These games with his national team were important for him, to reconnect with his culture and get his confidence. The final sprint, he will have the opportunity to play. It’s up to him to stay connected and show his resilience, which is really important.”
Sunderland host Millwall tomorrow with Le Bris mindful of the threat posed by Alex Neil’s visitors, who head into the final eight games of the season six points adrift of the play-off places.
“We have to respect Millwall because they have a strong team,” said the Black Cats boss. “They are really well-organised, strong out of possession and good at exploiting the spaces when they can recover the ball.
“It will be a tough game. For me, the main focus is always us. We have to take into account different elements of the opponent, but we have to play our best football. It wasn’t the case at Coventry, it was really clear, so our main focus is improving on that.”
