Blackburn Rovers told to 'do anything' to complete Birmingham City transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn Fan Pundit has urged the club to do all that they can to try and sign Birmingham winger Patrick Roberts.

Blackburn Rovers have been urged to ‘do anything they can’ to complete the signing of Birmingham City winger Patrick Roberts this summer.

Tony Mowbray’s second stint in charge of Blackburn began with a strong performance against one of the pre-season title favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux at the weekend.

Having been the better of the two sides, Marshall Munetsi gave Wolves a first half lead before Sean McLoughlin equalised and then Andri Gudjohnsen but Rovers ahead either side of half-time.

A late and controversial Raul Jimenez penalty ensured Wolves avoided a shock defeat but Blackburn should remain upbeat and confident from their opening day display.

Building on that in the final couple of weeks of the summer transfer window may well be crucial to the Lancastrians’ chances this season and the signing of Patrick Roberts would be something of a coup.

Blackburn urged to sign Patrick Roberts

Following that draw with Wolves, reports emerged linking Blackburn with a move for Birmingham winger Patrick Roberts, who appears to be on the periphery of things at St Andrew’s, with the former Manchester City man having been left as an unused substitute in Birmingham's goalless draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Having gained promotion with Sunderland just a couple of seasons ago, his potential arrival is something that FLW’s Blackburn Fan Pundit Simon Middlehurst is very keen on.

Simon says: “Definitely think he is a player that Blackburn should be looking to bring in.

“He is someone that knows the level very, very well. Obviously, he has played a lot at Birmingham and Sunderland, and before that he was at Derby, Middlesbrough, Norwich and he’s also played at Celtic before as well.

“He is definitely someone who has got a lot of experience which is something we need. Also, he adds another body to an already depleted squad.

“Also someone who can bring in a bit of quality as well so, absolutely, Blackburn need to do anything they can to bring him in.”

Patrick Roberts would provide much needed quality and depth for Blackburn

Having come from behind against Burton Albion to win their EFL Cup first round tie at the Pirelli Stadium, it has been a positive start to the season for Blackburn, despite some concern in pre-season about being involved in another relegation battle.

They do require a bit more depth this season and particularly in the attacking positions, with a lack of wide men perhaps a concern for Mowbray moving forward.

Former Bolton Wanderers attacker Dapo Afolayan has struggled since his move from St Pauli in January but he did put in a strong performance, including an assist for Gudjohnsen’s strike, at Wolves, while new signing Jayden Fevrier also showed glimpses off the bench after moving to Ewood Park from Stockport County.

Ryoya Morishita also grabbed an assist against Wolves but beyond that trio, there is a shortage of out and out wide men for Mowbray to choose from.

Patrick Roberts is now an experienced operator for the level and his absolute best can be very tricky. His arrival would provide extra quality in a key position for Mowbray, as well as adding much-needed depth beyond Afolayan, Morishita and Fevrier.

Tony Mowbray could be key to the Patrick Roberts signing

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In January 2022, as Sunderland struggled to keep themselves in the top six and the play-off places in League One, Patrick Roberts arrived and became instrumental to The Black Cats' revival, sparked by a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Bolton Wanderers late on in that month, which was Roberts' debut and the final game in charge of Lee Johnson.

Alex Neil took over and helped the Wearsiders eventually win the play-offs, with Roberts key to that as he scored their winning goal against Sheffield Wednesday in their play-off semi-final second-leg at Hillsborough.

Roberts initially had begun to show promise under Neil but he kicked on further the following season after Neil departed for Stoke City and was replaced by Tony Mowbray, with whom he would be reuniting should he indeed make the switch to Ewood Park.

In the 2022-23 campaign, as Sunderland finished in the Championship play-off places in their first season back in the second-tier and with Mowbray at the helm, Roberts produced his best personal season in terms of direct goal involvements in English football, and that remains the case to this day, and his second best ever after a productive season for Celtic in the 2016-17 Scottish Premiership.

With five goals and seven assists, Roberts played the best football of his career under Mowbray and a reunion with the Blackburn boss could well be very tempting for the Fulham academy graduate as he seeks to relaunch his career again this season - something that may scare Birmingham supporters.