Signing Patrick Roberts for £4 million, with add-ons seeing the fee rise to £10 million overall, was initially criticised by the media as a flippant purchase for a man who had only made a handful of Championship appearances for Fulham- but for me, he’s a shrewd signing.
I write this piece on the back of a fantastic Roberts performance that took place only a few hours before our big clash against Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The EDS opened their UEFA Youth League campaign perfectly with a 4-1 win against Juventus’ youth outfit, which saw Roberts run riot- scoring one and setting up another. His goal encapsulated everything about Roberts as a player. He glided past three players, fleet of foot and finished with aplomb.
His presence was dearly felt on the right hand side and he was an incessant threat for Juventus’ left back. He set up Aaron Nemane’s equaliser superbly and displayed to all present, the danger his crosses bring to the table as he constantly fired balls across the 6 yard box as City came close to extending their lead.
The motion I want to bring forward is the idea that we should make Roberts a regular fixture in the first team in the near future. Jesus Navas’ weaknesses have been royally exposed in the last few games and his inability to cross and influence games could really be something Patrick Roberts could correct.
He’s young, hungry and all the other clichés you could relate to a young hopeful. He’s also far more direct than his Spanish peer and will take men on. Of course he won’t displace new signing Kevin de Bruyne on the right flank- but as an understudy to the Belgian, he would be ideal.
The perfect chance for the young England international to kick on would be our clash in the Capital One Cup on the 22nd of September when we travel to Wearside to face Sunderland. He could really place himself up Manuel Pellegrini’s pecking order with a confident showing. Here’s to hoping he can prove his worth.
