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FLW's Birmingham fan pundit doesn't want to see his side let Patrick Roberts leave for Blackburn Rovers

There aren't many players who possess the reliability and quality on the right-hand side in the Championship like Patrick Roberts, but he may be unfavoured at his current club, Birmingham City.

The 29-year-old has only been at St Andrew's for a season, arriving on an initial loan deal from Sunderland last summer after he played a vital role in Regis Le Bris' side's promotion in the 2024/25 campaign.

He changed the game off the bench in the play-off final, setting up Eliezer Mayenda's equaliser, and he was heralded as a good signing for Birmingham, who evidently agreed, as they made his loan move permanent in February.

Six months on, though, Roberts could be on his way out again. He was left on the bench for the final five league games last season, and that's continued into this year, too, with him being an unused substitute in both competitive outings thus far.

Birmingham City fan pundit "doesn't get the rationale" behind letting Patrick Roberts leave for Blackburn Rovers

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The lack of usage for Roberts has led to questions being asked about his short-term future. This past Sunday, it was reported that Blackburn Rovers were interested in bringing the 29-year-old to Ewood Park.

Rovers Head Coach Tony Mowbray oversaw the best campaign of Roberts' EFL career to date while at Sunderland in the 2022/23 term. There, the former Manchester City and Celtic star scored five and assisted seven, as the Black Cats finished inside the top six.

But some Blues fans aren't on board with the idea of letting him leave, especially to a side such as Blackburn, who likely won't be able to meet their asking price. FLW's Birmingham fan pundit, Jason Moore, falls into that category.

"I'm not in favour of [letting go of Roberts] whatsoever," he said. "I don't think he should be sold, and I don't get the rationale behind it, either, but if Chris Davies doesn't fancy him, there's not much we can really do.

"I just don't get it, and realistically, if he was to go to Blackburn, it'd have to be a loan, as they don't have the funds to sign him, and if we do sell him, we'd have to reinvest that money into the squad.

"Who can you realistically get who is Championship-proven, who can just go and is better than Roberts?" he questioned.

The 29-year-old has over 200 appearances in the second tier, and while his goal return for a winger arguably isn't up there with some of the top widemen in the division's history, the work ethic of Roberts clearly doesn't go unnoticed, and some Birmingham fans feel that's too valuable an asset to lose.

Birmingham City fan pundit feels Patrick Roberts is a good alternative wideman to Carlos Vicente

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The lack of game time for Roberts has really coincided with the emergence of Carlos Vicente as one of the first names on the teamsheet. The 27-year-old cost Birmingham £7 million back in January, after scoring 10 times in all competitions in the first half of the season for Alaves.

It took the Spaniard a while to get into the swing of things in the Championship, but he started the final six league games last season and has so far started both games this year, too.

Understandably, a £7 million winger who signed from La Liga was always going to be ahead of Roberts in the pecking order, but Moore insists that the 29-year-old is a good squad option to have, and losing him could weaken them massively.

"It's going to be a long season, and you need a good squad to rotate. I'd just keep him around," the fan pundit continued.

"He offers something different to Carlos Vicente. They're totally different players. So if we're looking for someone off the bench to be creative when chasing a game, he provides that different option.

"So, yeah, I'm not in favour, I don't like it, and I don't want him to go."

Birmingham City could regret losing Patrick Roberts this summer

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Roberts hasn't started a game since Good Friday, and while there'll be some understanding that Vicente is just further up in the pecking order, the fact he's been left on the bench now for seven games in a row is quite concerning.

At 29, the wideman will be wanting regular game time, or at least be on the precipice of getting it if he performs well off the bench, and at St Andrew's that hasn't been the case.

Losing Roberts this summer to a fellow Championship side, too, could be frustrating, as it would allow him to prove he's still capable of starting games regularly in the same league as Birmingham.

If the Blues could replace him adequately, it would be less of an issue. But the 29-year-old has been crucial to play-off-chasing sides before, and chancing another winger without that experience could be a bad move this summer.