Patrick Roberts makes brilliant admission about Celtic

It has been a long time since Patrick Roberts left Celtic, after a two-and-a-half year loan spell at the club from Manchester City. But every time the transfer window opens, the Hoops find themselves being linked with a move for him, despite the fact that he has struggled for form badly since departing Parkhead back in 2018.

Roberts has been at several clubs since then, but never managed to find the kind of form that he showed early on in his career while on loan at Celtic. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he scored 18 goals and provided 26 assists in 78 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions.

Currently playing for Sunderland, he is hoping to help in their quest to win promotion back to the Championship. They are in the League One Play-offs final, where they will be taking on Wycombe Wanderers.

While speaking to The Athletic, Roberts admitted that his time at Celtic was one of the best of his career and that he will always support the club:

"“I was young when I first went there, 18, 19.“I hadn’t played much at City so I was looking to get out to play somewhere. I didn’t really know what to expect at Celtic and I didn’t play for the first couple of months. I played reserve games and stuff, then got an opportunity and ended up scoring about six goals and winning the league.“Then they changed managers and Brendan Rodgers came in. He was great, helped me a lot, played me a lot, tried to improve my game. I really felt I belonged somewhere and with a manager who takes care of his players, not just me. He wanted to improve us, not just for Celtic, but in general. I felt that.“Celtic is one of the best times of my career, playing every week for a big club, winning trophies, playing in big games. For a kid, it was an amazing opportunity and I felt at home at Celtic. I’ll always support Celtic, I’ll always have a connection. I was there two and a half years but that will last a lifetime. I hope I can do something here that’s as important.”"

Roberts makes brilliant admission about his time at Celtic

Back during his time at Celtic, it had looked like Roberts was destined for footballing superstardom. Even at such a young age, he managed to make a mark in the first-team for the Hoops, something that is not easy to do by any stretch of the imagination.

Ultimately though, it did not work out for him at Manchester City, or out on loan at several other clubs over the following years. It was only earlier in 2022 that he would finally leave Pep Guardiola’s side on a permanent basis and join Sunderland on a short-term deal.

Roberts has had a decent but not spectacular time at the Stadium of Light till now. It remains to be seen what the future holds for him but it is unlikely that he will be making a return to Celtic anytime soon.