I think, logically, Paddy’s deadline day loan move was best for everyone involved. He was not guaranteed the minutes that he wanted, so he got a good move to a big team, making a huge effort to get promoted.
That doesn’t take the sting out of it, though. We have the option to extend Paddy’s contract after this year, but I think that it is a very situational decision. The league we are in, the number of wingers at the club, and whether we think we can get a fee for Patrick will all impact that. Honestly,
though, regardless of whether it is the logical or correct decision, I will be heartbroken if we never get to see him in a Sunderland shirt again.
He is a terrific player and one from last season’s crop that I would have liked to see given a chance in the Premier League. His skill set would have provided something different to the rest of the players in the squad. I’m not saying he is definitely a Premier League player, as he is unproven at that level, but we signed Chemsdine Talbi as his ‘replacement’, who has only had one fully fledged season of senior football, that being in the Belgian League.
Talbi wasn’t our only right winger to be signed in the summer window. Bertrand Traoré seems to be more of a like-for-like match with Roberts. He is agile and very comfortable with the ball at his feet, but most importantly, left-footed. He has also played many games in the Premier League – racking up 55 appearances (scoring 9 and assisting 6) for Aston Villa and making 10 appearances (scoring 2 and assisting 1) for Chelsea.
However, both Traoré and Talbi will be whisked away to AFCON in the winter, leaving us with no established right-winger option. Traoré and Burkina Faso are not expected to get too far into the competition, but Talbi and Morocco are favourites to win it, meaning he might be unavailable for longer. This makes me wonder if keeping Roberts could have helped during this time. He would at least be someone very comfortable in that position. Of course, we have players who can do a job on the right-hand side – Rigg and Mayenda have helped us out in that role before – but I think we would all be sleeping a bit better, knowing that Roberts will be there to step in.
I don’t think there has been another Sunderland player since I started following the Lads who plays with such grace, skill and confidence with the ball at his feet – the only others that can maybe compete are McGeady and Amad. He was always fantastic to watch, and we wouldn’t be where we are right now without him.
I wish him all the best, but also hope that we won’t end up missing him too badly.
Hopefully, Talbi and Traorè will be able to fill the void that Patrick ‘Mini Messi’ Roberts has left behind, and letting him go out on loan won’t come back to bite us.
