It was announced on Wednesday afternoon that Tyler Roberts had ended his five-year spell at Leeds United, joining Birmingham City on a four-year deal – and plenty have responded, including a few Leeds players and Kalvin Phillips.
Roberts, 24, joined Leeds way back in January 2018 from West Brom. He has gone on to play 108 times for Leeds, largely under Marcelo Bielsa, scoring nine goals, laying on 10 assists. But, injury has hampered Roberts throughout.
Injured in Jesse Marsch’s first game, he missed the rest of the 2021-22 campaign. Then, the Wales star was sent on loan to Championship side QPR. But again, injuries. It saw him miss the trip to Qatar for the World Cup with Wales.
He finished the season with just 20 outings for QPR to his name, scoring four. Now, he moves to Birmingham City on a permanent basis, with most reports claiming a deal is worth around £750,000 including add-ons for the attacker.
Indeed, it will see Roberts return to Elland Road this season and play against the side that sold him – opening up the chance of Roberts coming back to haunt us. But he needed to leave Leeds and go and join a team to play regularly.
Leeds players and Phillips respond as Roberts ends five-year spell
It is the first senior exit from Leeds this summer, following the retained list. Adam Forshaw and Joel Robles will still be in pre-season training, but are technically free agents. A new manager will have to make a decision on the duo.
Following Roberts, it is likely that Diego Llorente will join Roma – either on another loan, or permanently. Marc Roca has interest from Real Betis. Others, at this stage, is just interest and speculation – but plenty are expected to go.
Plenty responded to the departure of Roberts. A well-liked figure and a constant player in the Bielsa era, the likes of Phillips and Mateusz Klich commented. Leeds stars Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Sam Greenwood did, too.
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