LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17: Patrick Roberts of Middlesbrough in action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Fulham and Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage on January 17, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Patrick Roberts has joined Middlesbrough on loan, Manchester City confirmed (source – Mancity.com). The forward, who spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough, is back again for a second spell. The Manchester club wished him the best for the coming season.
The 23-year-old English forward started his youth career at AFC Wimbledon in 2010 and moved to Fulham after 3 years. Within a year, he was promoted to the senior team and went on to make 22 appearances.
Manchester City signed him in 2015. However, he was sent on a string of loan spells. First, he went to Celtic and the loan lasted for three seasons. It was here that he had his most prolific spell. In 78 appearances, he scored 18 goals and assisted 26 (source – Transfermarkt).
More loan spells followed, this time to Girona, Norwich and Middlesbrough. Throughout this time, he has managed to play only three games for City. Roberts has been a regular part of the England youth teams but is yet to feature for the senior side.
When a player has played only three games for the parent team while going out on loan six times in five years, it’s clear that he has no future at the club. City have a plethora of attacking options at their disposal which includes the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Ferran Torres.
Surely no one is expecting Patrick Roberts to displace any of those names anytime soon. Then what was the point of another loan spell? He is clearly not a part of Guardiola’s plans and City should have secured a permanent deal instead.
Another loan spell means that the player will be back next year and the club will again have to find another suitor for him. The logical decision would have been to sell him and get some decent amount of money.
His young age means that City can actually get some value for a player who hasn’t played for them in ages. The club made a bad decision in not selling him and should look for an opportunity to do the same when they get the chance next time.
