Patrick Roberts joined Birmingham City on loan from Sunderland on transfer deadline day
Patrick Roberts won promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland in May
Patrick Roberts won promotion to the Premier League with Sunderland in May
One phone call from Chris Davies was all Patrick Roberts needed to convince him to return to the Championship with Birmingham City.
Roberts penned a season-long loan from Sunderland and was one of two deadline day signings Blues made – the other being experienced defender Jack Robinson.
The winger worked with Blues manager Davies briefly at Celtic, when Roberts was an up-and-coming prospect on loan from Manchester City and Davies was Brendan Rodgers’ number two.
Now, seven years later, Roberts will play under Davies again.
He told Blues+: “I know the manager, I worked with him when I was younger, so really, one phone call from him was all I needed.
“I was only young when I was at Celtic, him and Brendan Rodgers both helped me and you could see from there how he would take to being a manager.
“I spoke to some of the boys here, they said he's very good and he's come a long way, and he's a top coach.”
Roberts is aligned in ambition with everyone inside the building at Blues. Having joined Blues a few months after helping Sunderland win the Championship play-off final, Roberts wants to add another promotion to his CV.
“I didn't take much convincing, it's a big club and getting them back to where they should be was an aim and I'm here to try and help them,” he added.
Roberts is a diminutive, left-footed right-winger who should slot seamlessly into Blues’ preferred system under Davies.
He has been a fixture in Sunderland’s line-up and enjoyed two Championship seasons in which he recorded 10 goal contributions or more.
Explaining his style, Roberts said: “If you ask a lot of people, my biggest strength is probably the teamwork I bring. I show leadership in a different way, I'm very team-oriented and I'm there to help everyone as they would help me. If I can bring goals and assists, that is what I'll do. I want to play on the front foot and get fans excited.”
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