Birmingham City have struck gold with Sunderland agreement - Chris Davies won't be surprised | OneFootball

Patrick Roberts has impressed in the early stages of his loan spell with Blues

Birmingham City's early-season performances have come under the microscope, with many expecting big things from the newly-promoted side.

Such expectations have largely stemmed from outside predictions, as well as owner Tom Wagner continuously outlining his ambitions of returning the club to the Premier League as swiftly as possible.

Yet, whilst Blues boss, Chris Davies, recently labelled those who believe such a fate will transpire as somewhat 'deluded', the aforementioned claims were certainly backed up by a flurry of high-profile transfer dealings which followed the club's record-breaking season in League One.

The likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Demarai Gray and Tommy Doyle were amongst those to generate the greatest deal of hype when putting pen-to-paper on permanent or temporary deals at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

However, following the recent closure of the transfer window, it is one of Birmingham's Deadline Day recruits who has impressed many despite an inconsistent run for the club as a collective of late, and his new boss certainly won't be surprised with such developments.

Patrick Roberts has made an immediate impact at Birmingham City following Sunderland agreement

With the summer window drawing to a close, it was particularly evident that Davies' squad needed an extra injection of flair and dynamism in wide and creative areas after a steady start, but one which saw limited chances being created on the whole.

Therefore, plenty of excitement was generated when a temporary switch for Patrick Roberts from newly-promoted Sunderland was confirmed with just hours to spare, with Football League World first exclusively revealing Blues' interest in the wide-man.

The 28-year-old had been an integral figure in the Black Cats' own rise out of League One under Alex Neil, before continuing to put together an array of consistent performances under Tony Mowbray, Michael Beale and Regis Le Bris, which culminated in a return to the Premier League last term after defeating Sheffield United in the play-off final.

During Sunderland's run to the top-six in 2022/23, the Kingston upon Thames native posted five goals and seven assists before hitting the double-figure mark once again under Le Bris last term in their eventual promotion success.

Having multiple players with experience of what is required to make an immediate mark in the Championship will be a great benefit to Blues in the long run, and Roberts is proving exactly that in the early weeks of his loan stint.

The winger was, arguably, their best performer in a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Stoke City on debut, before posting his first assist for the club with a pinpoint 94th-minute cross for Lyndon Dykes to head home the following week against Swansea City.

Amid the chaos of underwhelming performances and results against Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday, the former Manchester City man remained fairly consistent, and his persistence certainly paid off in Friday's 1-1 draw with Wrexham in North Wales.

Despite being frustrated by a resolute Red Dragons' backline in the opening period, Roberts showcased his quality through a neat first goal for Blues, making a darting run which caught the hosts' defence unaware before coolly lifting Jay Stansfield's threaded ball past Arthur Okonkwo.

He would be substituted for Lewis Koumas, who also impressed in a 19-minute cameo. However, such consistency will not surprise Davies, who saw the potential Roberts had during a two-year spell with Celtic.

Chris Davies will know what to expect from Patrick Roberts at Birmingham City this season

Despite being much younger during their spell together at Parkhead, Roberts well and truly introduced himself as a creative spark in green and white hoops during the 2016/17 SPFL title-winning season, in which he netted nine times and accrued a further 10 assists.

Indeed, his career has been very mixed up to now, but after coming off the back of a successful period at the Stadium of Light, in which his confidence was fully restored, Davies will know that the former England youth international's attributes can help his side become way more clinical in front of goal and unlock second-tier defences.

Such feelings and belief are clearly reciprocated by the player, who said: "I know the manager — I used to work with him when I was younger, so one phone call from him was all I needed," at the time of his move to B9.

"You could see from there how he would take to becoming a manager and he's come a long way. He's a top coach. I already knew that."

Although Friday's stalemate extended Blues' recent inconsistencies to one win in six games across all competitions, Davies, Roberts and the vast majority of his squad now have two weeks to improve on such form ahead of a home clash with Hull City.