Once A Celt, Always A Celt

Patrick Roberts bid Paradise farewell at the weekend, but Celtic will remain in the winger’s heart.

PATRICK Roberts arrived at Celtic as a relatively unknown 18-year-old, but during his two-and-a-half-years in Glasgow, he established himself as a huge talent who became a firm favourite with the Celtic supporters. He may now have bid farewell to the Hoops, but Roberts admitted that a piece of his heart will forever remain in Paradise.

The English winger joined Ronny Deila’s Celtic side during the 2016 January transfer window and made his Hoops debut against Morton in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, where he gave fans a glimmer of the exciting style of football which he would enthral them with over the following two seasons.

Roberts won his first piece of silverware in the Hoops that season as Celtic clinched their fifth league title in a row. Brendan Rodgers’ appointment as Celtic manager in the summer of 2016 would herald a new era for the club and Roberts emerged as a key figure in the success that was to come.

The on-loan Manchester City winger played 47 games in Brendan Rodgers’ inaugural season, scoring 11 goals including one against his parent club in the UEFA Champions League group stages - and he contributed an impressive 19 assists to the Invincibles season.

He returned to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side last summer but admitted feeling he was not ready to part ways with Celtic. Towards the end of the summer transfer window, it was announced, much to the delight of the Celtic support, that Roberts would return for another season on loan.

And though his playing time was limited due to injury in this campaign, he still gave Hoops fans moments to remember, including another European goal in the 3-0 win over Anderlecht in Brussels.

Scott Brown’s Testimonial against the Republic of Ireland last Sunday gave Celtic fans the chance to not only celebrate their beloved captain, but to say a last goodbye to the 21-year-old winger.