Former Celtic winger Paddy Roberts has signed a two-year deal with Sunderland AFC. The 25-year-old helped fire Alex Neil’s team to The Championship via the Play-Offs last month and now he has put pen to paper on a deal that will take him to the summer of 2024.
✍️ He’s here to stay.
We’re delighted to confirm that Patrick Roberts has put pen to paper on a new deal!#SAFC
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) June 25, 2022
The player has had an unfortunate few seasons being loaned around by Man City. Girona, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Derby and Troyes all hosted the tricky winger for spells but Sunderland offers Roberts the first stability since leaving Celtic in 2018 after two-and-a-half years.
Roberts scored 18 goals in 79 appearances in Scotland and was very impressive under Brendan Rodgers in the Invincible season. The move to Sunderland appears to have offered Roberts the platform to play first-team football and the chance to regain confidence. The initial six-month deal has been extended now and the player will hope he can help The Black Cats gain promotion back to The Premier League.
He had a successful two-and-a-half-year leaving with seven trophies and the adoration of the support. Roberts has business interests in Glasgow and if Celtic had made an offer, he would certainly have be keen on a return. Although, it is indicative of the way Roberts’ career has arched that Postecoglou maybe thought that another stint at Celtic may not be what he was needing.
Celtic were said to have considered bringing Roberts back to Paradise but Postecoglou wasn’t convinced that bringing the Englishman back would overly benefit the team. Shortly thereafter, Postecoglou went for Portuguese winger Jota – whom he secured on a loan with an option to buy. Hopefully, Celtic can exercise this option to buy in the next few days.
