These days, the squad is winning a lot of games and keeping clean sheets, but maybe head coach Daniel Farke isn’t getting the credit he actually deserves. Leeds appeared to be a poisonous wasteland under his leadership, with a bloated team earning outrageous wages. Now that one transfer window has passed, the team appears to be cohesive again.
In an attempt to purge the team of players who either desired to go or had overstayed their welcome, Farke moved swiftly. Particularly, one player from Farke’s aggressive purge has had a terrible season at his new team.
Tyler Roberts’ time at Leeds
Signing Tyler Roberts from West Bromwich Albion in 2018 for an initial £2.5 million, with add-ons projected to bring the total to £4 million, was one of Thomas Christiansen’s final moves as manager of Leeds United.
After sustaining a minor bump on his way to Elland Road, the attacker was ruled out for the first few weeks. Roberts’ season quickly took a turn for the worst, though, when he broke his shin bone healing from his original injury, sidelining him the rest of the way.
Roberts did, however, ultimately make his competitive debut for the Whites under the direction of the renowned Marcelo Bielsa. He would go on to play 108 games for the team, 50 of which were in the Premier League.
But the Welshman only managed nine goals and seven assists in 108 games with Leeds.
On the other hand, only four goals separate Crystalsencio Summerville’s total of 15 goal contributions in 18 games this season.
| Tyler Roberts at Leeds United | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Appearances | Minutes | Goals | Assists |
| 2018/19 | 31 | 2,081 | 3 | 6 |
| 2019/20 | 23 | 1,084 | 4 | 1 |
| 2020/21 | 34 | 1,742 | 5 | 4 |
| 2021/22 | 27 | 1,187 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 20 | 1,228 | 4 | 0 |
| Stats by Transfermarkt | ||||
Roberts became little more than a bit-part player at Leeds before being loaned to Queens Park Rangers in the previous season. He was eventually moved to Birmingham City during the most recent summer transfer window for a price that was reportedly only worth £750k.
Tyler Roberts’ stats this season
The Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney took over as manager of St. Andrew’s during the time the former Leeds player missed out on playing his old team in August due to a calf injury he sustained during training. Since then, the player has not been included in the Birmingham squad.
The second-longest absence for Roberts during his Leeds stint two years ago was an 81-day layoff due to a torn thigh muscle. Roberts has already missed more games due to injury this season than at any other point in the previous five seasons.
The Leeds supporters were harsh on the 20-cap Wales international, especially when the team was playing in the Premier League under Bielsa. Journalist Phil Hay of The Athletic acknowledged that the coach stuck with the teenage striker because he “obviously rates him,” but Roberts has been demonstrating since leaving Elland Road that his detractors are correct, as he has played in little over an hour of games for Birmingham City.
