Sunderland loanee Patrick Roberts will help struggling Birmingham City ace after Amad Diallo example

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Birmingham City have spent heavily on transfer fees this summer, but a loan swoop for Sunderland star Patrick Roberts could prove to be their best business come May.

Birmingham City were among the biggest spenders in the Championship this summer with several marquee signings added to Chris Davies’ side.

Earlier in the summer, the newly promoted Blues stole Championship headlines with their signing of former Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi and the loan swoop for Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle.

The Tom Brady-backed Birmingham boast an impressive starting XI after the transfer window, following the deadline day arrival of Patrick Roberts from now-Premier League Sunderland.

Of all Birmingham’s incomings this summer, it is Roberts who potentially holds the key to unlocking the best form of one of the Blues’ most high-profile signings, who has struggled so far this season.

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Patrick Roberts will help Kyogo Furuhashi’s Birmingham City form

Birmingham signed Roberts, who was pivotal to Sunderland’s promotion last season, on loan towards the end of the window in a major coup for the Blues.

Roberts chose Birmingham over a permanent move to Derby County because of his connection with Blues boss Davies from their time together at Celtic, where the right-winger starred at on loan from Manchester City.

The Sunderland loanee will hope to hit the ground running at St Andrew’s, and Davies will also want Roberts to aid the form of Furuhashi, whom Birmingham fans have labelled “redundant” thus far.

Furuhashi arrived from Rennes in a £10m deal this summer, but the Japanese international forward is still waiting for his first league goal for Birmingham after four Championship outings.

Enter Roberts, whose attacking exploits and service will undoubtedly help his teammate to get off the mark in the league when Championship action resumes.

Sunderland fans hailed Roberts as a ‘Mini Messi’ during his 147 games in red and white, with his gifted dribbling ability a nightmare for defences to deal with whilst also bringing his fellow attackers into play magnificently.

Championship supporters will be aware of the connection he had at Sunderland with Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo in the 2022/23 Championship campaign, and Blues boss Davies would benefit from a similar partnership between Roberts and Furuhashi.

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Patrick Roberts must recreate Amad Diallo with Kyogo Furuhashi

Under the tutelage of former Blues boss Tony Mowbray, Roberts and Diallo formed a dynamic partnership in the Championship to terrorise second tier defences together.

As per Chronicle Live, Roberts said of Diallo in 2023: “He’s a great player, he has been brilliant since he’s been here and shown his quality.

“Having a player of that calibre is great. He’s been a great asset this season. He’s come in and been brilliant.

“When you are playing with better players, you play better yourself and he’s just one of those players when you give him the ball, he can hold it and play you back in again, or you know what he’s going to do and vice-versa.”

Roberts has already proved that his natural talents can also get the best out of his attacking teammates alongside the Man Utd loanee, and Davies will be hoping the magical right-winger can repeat his Amad connection with Furuhashi to inspire the Blues’ promotion push.

As by Roberts’ own admission, “with better players, you play better yourself”, and his free-flowing best in the attacking third could be the boost needed to get Furuhashi firing in the Championship.