Derby County reaction given to Patrick Roberts, Birmingham City transfer disappointment | OneFootball

FLW’s Derby County fan pundit has commented over the Rams missing out on a move for winger Patrick Roberts on deadline day.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County have had an underwhelming start to the new Championship season under John Eustace, and missed out on a late deal for Sunderland winger, Patrick Roberts.

The Rams have collected just two points from their opening four games and are yet to taste victory after suffering late heartbreak at Ipswich Town last weekend, something they will be looking to rectify immediately after the international break.

The East Midlands outfit has undergone a period of change to the playing squad though, with 13 new additions still taking time to gel and get used to Eustace’s methods.

Despite having an impressive window overall, Derby County did miss out on target Patrick Roberts, with the winger eventually completing a season-long loan switch to Birmingham City from Sunderland.

Journalist Alan Nixon originally reported that the Rams were considering an audacious bid to see Roberts reunite with the Pride Park faithful, but it is believed that Roberts’ previous connection at Celtic with Blues boss Chris Davies was a key factor behind his move to the West Midlands unfolding.

After this development, FLW’s Derby County fan pundit spoke about his thoughts on the deal not materialising.

Derby County disappointment outlined following Patrick Roberts snub

Speaking to Football League World, Derby County fan pundit Shaun Woodward has admitted that the lack of a left-winger option is an issue after missing out on Patrick Roberts, with Corey Blackett-Taylor unable to maintain his fitness.

Woodward said: “I think Roberts would have been the icing on the cake.

“We had an excellent window, bringing in so many good attacking players. It would have been great to get a left-sided winger in because Corey Blackett-Taylor can’t seem to stay fit for any length of time, which is such a shame because he really was showing great form in pre-season.

“Getting an assist in the first game, and now he’s injured for six weeks. If we can get him fit, then there isn’t a problem down that left wing, but over his time at Derby, he just can’t stay fit, which is a big worry.

“But, bringing in Brereton Diaz, although he’s right-footed, he likes to play on the left and cut inside, so he could play that role, although he’s very different to Blackett-Taylor, he’s going to really give us that threat down the left side, cutting in and linking up with the frontman or having the shot himself, so I do think he’ll give us a real goal threat.

“We also have Beck, who, depending on what formation we play, could be more attack-minded. I just feel the fact we don’t have out-and-out wingers means we will play the 4-2-3-1 or the 3-4-1-2, so I don’t think we’ll be playing with much width.

“But attacking wise now, when everyone is fit, you have Blackett-Taylor, Brereton Diaz, Brewster, Weimann, Clarke. We’ve got the likes of Jackson and Ward to come in off the bench, the frontmen of Morris, Salvesen and Ageymang. We’ve got so many options now which we haven’t had for years.

“We survived last year with basically Yates and Harness, so we’re spoiled for choice now, whoever is fit.

“It would have been great to get Roberts, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world.”

Derby County will feel disappointed to miss out on Patrick Roberts

Derby County will have felt they had a good chance of landing Patrick Roberts due to his past connections with the club, but he ultimately felt the project at Birmingham City was a more appealing one after tasting promotion with Sunderland last term.

Roberts would have added vital Championship know-how to the Derby squad, and alongside his ability to link-up attacks, it would have been an exciting prospect to see him develop connections with the vast number of options they have to lead the line.

Adding Roberts to the mix would have created such a dangerous forward line, so disappointment will be felt that he has joined a Championship rival that will also be competing with Derby for the promotion places.

Regardless, Derby still have a very healthy set of first-team figures in the attacking areas who can do an effective job, and you would expect Derby to rise up the table once all the players adapt to John Eustace’s way of playing.