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ADAM ROBERTS INTERVIEW
Patrick Roberts is one of Sunderland’s most exciting players right now. So, we caught up with his brother and agent, Adam, to discuss Patrick’s initial move to Wearside, how he’s enjoying playing under Tony Mowbray and the challenges of being both an agent and a brother of a professional football player.
Adam offers a great insight into the life of a football agent. It’s a side of football that we don’t see in the media, but thankfully he is open and honest about his experiences in the industry.
What made Patrick first come to Sunderland in January 2021?
“Patrick needed a fresh start and the priority was always to be back playing in England. I’ve always felt and still believe he is a Premier League player and the goal since he was a child has been to play at the highest level. We assessed the options and felt Sunderland was the best fit to reboot his career. The idea of dropping to League One didn’t faze him, or me. It was a risk but one worth taking for him to get back playing regularly.
Sunderland is a massive club and, in a way, it reminded me of a similar situation at Celtic where he thrived (amazing support, the size of the club etc).”
“Lee Johnson was a key factor as he spoke about the club well and we bought into his style of play and what he could do for Patrick as an individual. Kristjaan Speakman also spoke to us about his and the club’s philosophy of developing younger players and how he could see Patrick fitting in to that environment.”
Adam also discussed the other options at the time, although SAFC was always the preferred destination.
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