Celtic reportedly want Patrick Roberts back from Manchester City next season but perhaps they should attempt to grab him on a permanent basis.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has not wasted an opportunity to make clear that he would jump at the chance to take Patrick Roberts back to Glasgow in the summer.
According to The Express, the Scottish Champions are willing to pay £500,000 to loan the sprightly winger from Manchester City for another season after a largely excellent 18 months at Parkhead.
As it stands, however, it remains uncertain whether Roberts has a future at the Etihad. Pep Guardiola surely couldn’t help but be impressed as the one-time Fulham prodigy ripped into his defence en route to a sublime individual goal in the Champions League group stages earlier in the season.
And, with nine more goals to his name in the Scottish Premiership, Roberts is clearly a more mature, rounded player than the skinny youngster who first arrived at Parkhead desperate for a chance in the winter of 2016.
Nonetheless, with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Jesus Navas and countless highly-rated academy prospects all fighting for a place in Pep’s peerless front line, it is fair to say Roberts’ game-time could take a hit if he remains at The Etihad beyond this summer.
Therefore, perhaps he would be open to a return north of the border. He intimated as much when talking to Herald Scotland before rating his spell at Celtic as a ‘perfect ten’.
Magic
However, with Rodgers admitting to The Express that the club could break their 17-year transfer record for a ‘game changer’, you wonder whether they will perhaps take a punt on signing Roberts permanently.
“They have always had someone with the magic, someone who gets [supporters] up off their feet,” Rodgers said. “We’ll be looking for that.”
And the elusive, quick-footed Roberts certainly fits the bill. Chris Sutton’s club-record £6 million move from Chelsea has stood for almost two decades.
Maybe it is about time Celtic broke it.
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