Sunderland are closing in on the signing of Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts with the Black Cats beating off competition from other sides for the 24-year-old.

According to the Northern Echo, both Wigan Athletic and Roberts' former club Celtic were interested in a deal for the player, but the Black Cats have won the race to bring him in for the remainder of the campaign.

Roberts has been at French top tier side Troyes on loan this season, however he's made just two appearances in all competitions.

The Wearsiders were first linked with Roberts the day before the transfer window opened, and now they've finally struck a deal for the diminutive attacker - let's take a closer look at the deal.

 

 

 

 

Is it a good potential move?

This could be one that restarts Roberts' career somewhat.

Since his loan spell with Celtic ended in 2018, Roberts has been away from Man City a lot of times without success and he's not been able to gain any consistency whatsoever.

With Aiden McGeady out still with a knee injury as well, this signing provides some more depth out wide and potentially in the number 10 role so it's one that could be beneficial for all parties.

Would he start?

No-one is a guaranteed starter and with Roberts hardly playing in France so far this season, it may take him a little bit of time to get up to speed with the rest of the squad.

With Lee Johnson reverting to a 4-2-3-1 formation in recent matches though, moving away from the 3-5-2 that he'd been using for most of December, it's strengthened the need to bring in another wide player.

Lynden Gooch's performances haven't been up to scratch in the eyes of a lot of supporters recently so when he's ready, Roberts could be his replacement.

What does he offer?

When Roberts was at his best when at Celtic between 2016 and 2018, he provided both a threat in goals and assists and also a sense of unpredictability.

He's a good dribbler and sometimes he can spend a little too much time on the ball, but he's a McGeady-esque player in the sense that when he's on form he can make things happen.

His last few loan spells have been unsuccessful though, however a drop down to League One could be what is best for Roberts and Sunderland could benefit from that.