Wayne Rooney says he wanted to sign Tyler Roberts from Leeds United when he was Derby County manager as he prepares to work with him for the first time at Birmingham City.
Roberts made the permanent move to Birmingham from Leeds in the summer while John Eustace was manager, but has not played since the first day of the season due to injury.
That means the 24-year-old is still yet to feature under Rooney, who controversially replaced Eustace in the dugout back in October. He is, however, close to a return.
Speaking to Birmingham Live, Rooney spoke of his excitement at welcoming Roberts back into the fold, having previously wanted to work with him before at Derby.
He said: “He’s a player I tried to sign at Derby County on loan, so he’s clearly a player I like. We know there’s a real player in there. The issue which we’ve had is getting him on the pitch.”
Roberts could face Leeds on January 1
Roberts would’ve been making his home debut for Birmingham against Leeds back in August had he been fit, but that’s just the way it has gone for him in recent years.
Rooney was Derby manager between November 2020 and June 2022, which was the period Leeds were in the Premier League and Roberts was still playing fairly regularly at Elland Road.
At the time under Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds were not in the business of loaning anyone close to the first team to other clubs, which is probably why Rooney was left empty-handed in his pursuit of Roberts.
He ended up eventually leaving on loan to QPR shortly after Rooney had made his exit from Derby. He spent one season at the West London club, again spending much of it out injured.
Rooney will now be hoping he has Roberts available for a sustained period of time, and the Welshman could make his first return to Leeds on January 1.
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