This former £4 million signing hasn’t played much since leaving Leeds United.
Leeds United currently feel like a different team than the one that was relegated from the Premier League the previous season. The Yorkshire club is third in the Championship, putting pressure on Ipswich Town and Leicester City above them.
Goals are flying in and the team is keeping plenty of clean sheets lately, but perhaps head coach Daniel Farke isn’t getting the credit he deserves. Leeds appeared to be a toxic wasteland when he took over, with a bloated squad on exorbitant wages. After one transfer window, the team appears to be coming back together.
Tyler Roberts’ time at Leeds United
One of Thomas Christiansen‘s final acts as Leeds United manager was to sign Tyler Roberts from West Bromwich Albion for an initial fee of £2.5 million, with the fee expected to rise to £4 million in add-ons.
The attacker arrived at Elland Road with a minor injury, putting him out for a few weeks. However, things quickly went downhill for Roberts when he fractured his shin bone while recovering from his initial injury, keeping him out for the rest of the season.
Nonetheless, under legendary coach Marcelo Bielsa, Roberts made his competitive debut for the Whites and went on to make 108 appearances for the club, including 50 in the Premier League.
However, in 108 games with Leeds, the Welshman managed just nine goals and ten assists.
Crysencio Summerville, on the other hand, has 15 goal contributions in 18 games this season, which is only four short of Roberts‘ total.
Following a loan move to Queens Park Rangers the previous season, Roberts was eventually sold to Birmingham City during the most recent summer transfer window for a fee rumoured to be worth just £750k, having become nothing more than a bit-part player at Leeds.
Tyler Roberts’ season stats
When former Blues manager John Eustace was in charge, Roberts was given a four-year contract, which seems questionable in retrospect. The 24-year-old made his Championship debut against Swansea City on the opening day of the season, playing 61 minutes before being substituted. Unfortunately, Roberts‘ appearance for the Blues was his only one.
The ex-Leeds player suffered a calf injury in training a few days before facing his former club in August and has been out of the Birmingham squad ever since, during which time Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has taken over in the St. Andrew‘s dugout.
Roberts has now missed 21 games due to injury this season, more than at any other point in the previous five seasons, with the second-longest being an 81-day absence due to a torn thigh muscle during his time with Leeds two years ago.
The 20-cap Wales international was heavily chastised by Leeds fans, particularly during the club’s time in the Premier League under Bielsa. The Athletic‘s Phil Hay admitted that the manager stuck with the young forward because he “obviously rates him,” but Roberts has been proving his detractors wrong since leaving Elland Road, seeing little more than an hour of action at Birmingham City.
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