In the fourth edition of our summer signing mini-series, we discover ten lesser-known facts about Patrick Roberts…
  • Five a side: It turns out 5 February is a good birthday if you want to be a professional footballer… Roberts shares his special day with Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Adnan Januzaj  and Carlos Tevez. They probably wouldn’t do much defending, but as a five a side they might take some beating.
  • On the wind-up: Patrick admitted during a campaign video that he loves trying to wind up his opposition defenders by repeatedly taking them on and inviting them to bring him down.
  • School days: Combining his education with dreams of being a pro athlete, the youngster cites Maths as his favourite subject, while he found English a tougher proposition.
  • The Wombles: Roberts began his youth career at AFC Wimbledon, before moving to Fulham as a 13-year-old.
  • Global heroes: Like most young footballers, Roberts idolises Barcelona legend Lionel Messi, but he also namechecks England’s Steven Gerrard, City and Spain magician David Silva and USA international Clint Dempsey as players he looks up to.  
  • Etihad debut: Roberts has already impressed on Manchester turf, after making his Premier League debut against City for Fulham in March 2014. After handing him his senior bow, Cottagers boss Felix Magath said: “Pat is a very big talent and he will have a great career in front of him, so I think it is good for him to make the experience now in the Premier League, so he will get used to it.”
  • Merseyside heritage: Although he grew up in Kingston-Upon-Thames, ten minutes from Fulham’s training ground, Roberts’ parents hail from near Liverpool, and his family are big supporters of the Anfield side.
  • Trophy cabinet: City fans will be pleased to hear the young star brings a medal-winning pedigree to a club constantly striving for more silverware. The London-born youngster was one of the key players as England u17s won the European Championship in 2014, and he was voted into UEFA’s Team of the Tournament.  
  • Young Lion: After representing his country at the u16 and u17 age groups, Roberts is now a mainstay in the u19 side. In the qualifiers for the u19 Euros, he scored four goals and chalked up four assists in three games to help England through the group stages, and was a starter in the recent win over Germany.
  • Number games: Although he was only 17 at the start of the 2014/15 campaign, Patrick grabbed an assist for Fulham’s first team on the opening day of the season against Ipswich in the Championship. In all, he made 19 appearances for the Cottagers last term.