Birmingham City attacker exit is a surprise but a great opportunity: View | OneFootball

Tyler Roberts joined Northampton Town on deadline day in a surprise move

After a first season at St Andrew's that was overshadowed by injuries, expectations were that Tyler Roberts would kick on this season in League One, but Birmingham City made the surprise decision to loan him out on deadline day.

Welsh international Roberts joined the Blues' League One rivals Northampton Town on a season-long loan, a move which not many people would have seen coming.

The 25-year-old is still young, despite it feeling like he's been around for years thanks to spells at a number of different clubs, and the move to Sixfields could present him with a chance to get his career back on track.

Roberts had made two appearances for Chris Davies' Birmingham City side in August, but both of those came in the Carabao Cup, and the fact he'd been excluded from the Blues matchday squad for all of their league games suggested he was going to struggle for minutes, meaning the move to Northampton has come at the right time.

Tyler Roberts' move to Northampton Town is a great opportunity

It's not unfair to say that Roberts' move to Northampton Town isn't one that many people would have seen coming, and it doesn't feel like too long ago that he was playing in the Premier League for Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa.

However, injuries and Bielsa's Elland Road departure meant that he slipped down the pecking order at Leeds and spent the 2022/23 season on loan at QPR, before completing a permanent switch to Birmingham City last summer.

There's no doubt that Roberts is a talented player, as you don't play 51 times in the Premier League without having something about you, but the constant chopping and changing of clubs, coupled with injuries has meant he's struggled to put a run of games together, and subsequently struggled for form.

Eyebrows would have been raised when it emerged he was joining Northampton, one of the smaller clubs in League One, but he should see it as a great opportunity.

If Roberts is fit and firing, then he will be the Cobblers' main man, and if he's able to string a run of games together, there's no reason why he can't get back to his best and show some of the form he did with Leeds in the Premier League.

The Welshman told The Northampton Chronicle that there were "3 or 4 clubs interested" but the move to Cobblers would allow him to play regularly.

He said: "I spoke to the manager at Birmingham, and we had a chat, and we thought it was best to go and find somewhere to get regular minutes and play more games, which is not something I've had in the last couple of years."

That's a sensible approach from the 25-year-old, and shows that he realises he needs to be playing football in a bid to get back to his best.

Roberts looks like he could be a serious coup for Northampton Town, and the move to Sixfields is a great opportunity for him to rejuvenate his career.

Tyler Roberts' Birmingham City career isn't over yet

Roberts may not feature in Davies' plans this year, but if he performs well at Northampton, there's no reason why he can't return to the fold at St Andrew's next season.

He signed a four-year deal with Blues last summer, meaning he'll still have two years on his deal when he returns from his loan next year.

It's fair to say that the St Andrew's faithful haven't seen the best of Roberts as he played just 19 times last season, registering just one assist, but injuries massively disrupted his first campaign in the Midlands, and playing in a side that got relegated wouldn't have helped either.