Southampton want to sign Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts on a season-long loan – meaning any lingering Celtic hopes look over.
Celtic would surely have welcomed Patrick Roberts back with open arms this summer. Despite a sluggish start to his 18 month loan deal from Manchester City, the winger developed into one of the most important members of Brendan Rodgers’ squad in his second season, scoring 11 goals and setting up 19 in all competitions across 2016/17.
Therefore, with parent club City hardly short of genuine star quality in the final third, it’s little surprise Celtic attempted to test the water with a permanent bid. The Daily Record claim Celtic were willing to offer £5 million for the 20-year-old.
Patrick Roberts looks beyond Celtic’s reach
However, with Roberts included in City’s pre-season tour, it appeared that Pep Guardiola was willing to give him a chance in the first team next season, albeit with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and new signing Bernardo Silva all providing fearsome competition.
Yet, reports in The Sun that Southampton will attempt to sign the former Fulham youngster on a season-long loan have raised fresh doubts over where Roberts will play his football next season.
Forwards step
Pep Guardiola may rate the technical winger highly, lauding his performance after he netted a superb individual goal against City in the Champions League group stages last season. However, the Catalan coach will know that Roberts’ progression could stall if forced to sit on the bench for a season after 18 months of regular football and endless trophies north of the border in Glasgow.
Southampton can offer regular first-team opportunities and Roberts appears a perfect fit for a side renowned for its technical, creative game play. The likes of Dusan Tadic, Adam Lallana and Nathan Redmond, players with similarly exciting skill-sets, thrived on the South Coast and Roberts could follow in their footsteps.
Furthermore, if City are keen to find out whether Roberts can make the grade, giving him the chance to prove himself in the Premier League with Southampton makes far more sense than another loan spell in the vastly inferior Scottish top flight.
Roberts may have come on leaps and bounds at Celtic but, at this stage of his career, a return would have been a sidewards step.
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