Patrick Roberts is on loan at Celtic from Manchester City at the moment.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has told The Glasgow Evening Times that Patrick Roberts could remain at the club next season.
Roberts joined Scottish Premiership giants Celtic on loan from Premier League powerhouse Manchester City in February 2016.
The 20-year-old winger’s loan spell at Celtic Park is scheduled to end at the end of the season.
Celtic manager Rodgers has suggested that the England Under-20 international could remain at the Hoops on a permanent contract.
“I wouldn’t say no chance,” Rodgers told The Glasgow Evening Times about the possibility of Roberts being at Parkhead next season. “Again, he’s a young player that loves it here.
“He’s a Manchester City player and the agreement was 18 months. He’ll go back and he’ll want to fight to see if he can get into the Manchester City squad.
“They are one of superpowers now in terms of finance and squads in the game, so I’m sure he wants to go in and work with Pep Guardiola for a bit and see how all of that works out.
“And then over the course of pre-season, they’ll decide what happens. Is he going to stay and be around the squad, or does he need to go out on loan again. If he does, I’m sure this will be a really attractive option to him. It’ll just depend. Initially for the qualifiers, I doubt he’d be here.”
“No,” added Rodgers when asked if any move for Roberts would have to be a loan deal. “He’s a very gifted and talented player. There is a long way to go before we would know what is happening on that front.”
It seems that Rodgers is open to the idea of signing Roberts on a permanent contract.
It does make sense. The former Fulham youngster has been a success at Celtic Park and has improved under Rodgers.
According to Celtic’s official website, Roberts has scored 12 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys.
There is one major problem, and that is the transfer fee. According to The Glasgow Evening Times, Manchester City paid Fulham £12 million in the summer of 2015 in order to secure the services of Roberts.
Would Celtic be able to muster that much money? Probably not. Would City be willing to sell Roberts at a lower fee? Probably not.
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