Yang Hyun-Jun was the subject of interest from Birmingham City during the summer window.placeholder image
Yang Hyun-Jun was the subject of interest from Birmingham City during the summer window. | AFP via Getty Images
Birmingham City added promotion-winning winger Patrick Roberts to their squad but they initially had a different target in mind
Birmingham City concluded their summer transfer window business with a late move to sign Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts on a season-long loan. Roberts played 45 times in the Championship last season for a Sunderland team which won promotion back to the Premier League by defeating Sheffield United in the play-off final.
The former Manchester City winger arrives with tons of second-tier experience, having played 170 times in the division over the course of his career. He also brings with him experience of winning promotion twice while also being crowned a champion in Scotland three times during his fruitful spells at Celtic as a loanee.
Why Birmingham City’s move for Celtic ace collapsed
Birmingham City expressed a late interest in landing Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun. Glasgow World understands the South Korean international had initially been the club’s first choice after a decent campaign last term which saw him register six goals and six assists in 34 matches across all competitions.
Yang played Champions League football last season and even registered an assist against German champions Bayern Munich. He’s progressed from a player on the periphery to a more regular first team football under Brendan Rodgers but was considered dispensable if the Hoops signed Sebastian Tounekti to replace him. The Scottish champions were indeed successful in bringing Tounekti to Parkhead, but in the end the deal for Yang to move to the West Midlands never materialized.
Graeme Bailey told EFL Analysis: “I believe that Birmingham pulled out of that one because they just weren’t willing to wait. Obviously Celtic did get Sebastian Tounekti in but that was very late. So, I think the option for Birmingham was to bring Roberts in, and they couldn’t afford to wait and then be left with no options, so I think they went with Roberts just because it was there to be done and they see him as being just as good.
“It was the player’s decision. I’m not sure how close Derby County were to a permanent deal because that’s very expensive. I’m not sure they would have still had the funds in place to do that because it would have been pretty big, and with his contract as well, but it was down to the player. Obviously, he saw Birmingham was a better option for him at this time, which again probably isn’t a huge surprise.”
‘ I can see there’s potential here to have a good season’ - Patrick Roberts
Patrick Roberts, who appeared as a substitute for Sunderland in a defeat to Burnley, describes himself as a winner and claims the chance to join Birmingham City was too good to turn down. He told the club website: “I’m a winner,” he said. “And this is a place, and a club, that wants to strive to get to the top. And off the back of last season, where I did that (winning promotion), I can see there’s potential here to have a good season.
“It didn’t take much convincing. It’s a big club, and getting back to where Birmingham should be is an aim.Doing what the club did last season is no small feat. It’s a hard league, I’ve played in it myself, so to go and get the points record is something special. To join now is exciting, there’s a lot of momentum, and it’s a huge club.”
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