Manchester City undoubtedly have some of the best young talents in the Premier League at their disposal. However, they have not been willing to use them on regular basis and have let quite a few of them leave on loan. One such player is Patrick Roberts, who was sent to play for the Scottish side Celtic on loan, as the football fraternity witnessed the English youngster’s ominous form throughout the last season, helping the Hoops to lift the Scottish Premiership trophy.
However, now that the 20-year-old winger has returned from his loan stint that lasted for 18 months, his parent club Manchester City are once again looking to send him on another loan spell, which, as they have stated it, will help him develop as a player even more in the forthcoming days.
This has irked a lot of interest among a number of clubs in the Premier League including Southampton, who are in dire need of a quality forward to help them score as many goals as possible and ensure that they book a place in the top six, which they missed out on during the last term.
The South Coast club, who faced a serious lack of attacking options in the last season, with occasional injury scares to players like Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini that kept them away from the action for quite some time, are looking forward to make amends for their losses in the last term and bring in players who can give them the much needed impetus to get positive results under their belt in the new season.
During his loan stint at the Celtic Park, the English winger played a total of 60 matches, scoring 17 goals for them. He was one of the best players in the last term for the Hoops and has been wanted by them for the new season as well. Reportedly, Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers has been eyeing a reunion with the forward and is preparing a big bid for him.
However, the Saints are also in the race for the influential youngster to be a part of their lineup in the next term and might be looking to give tough competition to Celtic for securing the signature of the 20-year-old attacker on the contract paper.
The South Coast club have been far from their best in terms of results in the last term and are poised to sign some good players, who can help them freshen up the attack. In this situation, Roberts seems to be the perfect option to fit their bill.
