Celtic held talks with Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts in last summer’s transfer window but Ange Postecoglou had concerns about the winger’s mindset, as reported by The Athletic.
Whoever said this would be a season of transition at Parkhead?
Whoever said Celtic could not compete with Old Firm rivals Rangers with a whole new set of players, most of whom had probably never even heard of Ross County, let alone played against them?
During Postecoglou’s debut campaign at the helm, Celtic have signed no less than 14 first-team players.
And it’s a testament to the club’s remarkable recruitment that all but probably two – the seldom-seen James McCarthy and the injury-hit Yosuke Ideguchi – can be considered a success.
Of the 11 players who started Sunday’s 2-1 Old Firm derby victory over Rangers – a result which extends Celtic’s lead to six points at the top of the Scottish Premiership table – only three were at the club when Neil Lennon was put out of his misery some 14 months ago.
Did Celtic make the right call with Patrick Roberts?
But whether Patrick Roberts would have kick-started his stuttering career back home at Parkhead is anyone’s guess.
According to The Athletic, Postecoglou spoke with the former Hoops hero last summer regarding a potential return to his old stomping ground.
The former Australia boss walked away from the deal because, as the report says, ‘Postecoglou was not convinced the player had the single-mindedness he looks for’.
Given that Celtic would go out and sign the mesmerising Filipe Jota instead – arguably the best of the club’s 14 new faces – even the most ardent Roberts supporter would struggle to argue that this was the wrong decision.
Especially when you consider that Roberts, now 25, has not come close to replicating the form he showed during that dazzling loan spell on he green half of Glasgow all the way back in 2016/17.
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He’s scored just three goals in the last five years. It feels like a long time since Brendan Rodgers was comparing him to a young David Silva.
Roberts joined third-tier Sunderland on a six-month deal in January after an ill-fated spell at French side Troyes.
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