Sunderland Boss Tony Mowbray Addresses Paddy Roberts to Celtic Links

Rumours of Paddy Roberts returning to Celtic have emerged, as the Scottish side continues its search to replace the recently departed Jota.

However, these speculations have been cooled by Sunderland’s boss, Tony Mowbray.

Roberts, currently plying his trade at Sunderland, has received firm backing from Mowbray, a former Celtic manager. Emphasising his satisfaction with Roberts, Mowbray stated, via Football Scotland,”Definitely 100 per cent [Roberts staying at Sunderland].

“He’s just had a nice new haircut. He’s as happy as a sandboy. That’s news to me, there’s people interested in Patrick is there? That’s not a concern at all to me. Patrick is in the right place, he’s rebuilding a career back to the level where I feel as if we can get him to and I hope he enjoys the freedom he’s being given to attack and not to worry about losing the ball every now and then.

“When he eliminates people, two or three or four, and we score it’s amazing to see. I don’t think there’s an issue with Patrick.”

Roberts previously enjoyed two loan spells with Celtic, both under Brendan Rodgers. His performance in his first stint with the club was particularly notable. Yet, following a series of loans from Manchester City, Roberts seems to have found stability with Sunderland and is doing well with the club.

While Roberts undeniably possesses talent, many believe he hasn’t entirely met the high expectations set for him, which is a pity for such a promising player. He’s in a great place to perform at a decent level and kick on in his career, but he won’t be doing so at Celtic.

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The Honduran international will sign a long-term deal at Celtic as he reportedly closes in on a move.

Luis Palma is set to join Celtic as their seventh summer recruit and will pen a long-term contract in Glasgow.

The Honduran international has been the subject of an ‘increased’ bid from the Scottish champions after an initial £3.5million swoop for the Aris winger was bumped up. It comes as £4million rated Palma, previously a transfer target of rivals Rangers, is set to miss the weekend’s action in the Greek Super League against Lamia as he closes in on a move to Brendan Rodgers’ side. The 23-year-old has an impressive CV for the Thessaloniki outfit and it was revealed that he would earn around eight times his current package, working out at around £500,000 per year (around £11,000 a week) for the attacker.

Palma looks set to join the likes of Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Yang Hyun-jun in joining Rodgers’ efforts for a Champions League assault, after reports suggested that the wide man had snubbed two clubs chasing him from the cash-rich Saudi Pro League with his sights set on a switch to Glasgow’s east end. It’s the destination Celtic’s Jota went to, joining Al-Ittihad, but the Portuguese has faced a torrid time on the transfer front.

In the case of Palma, according to reporter Giannis Chorianopoulos, he will likely sign a four-year contract when arriving at Parkhead. It has been in the Celtic model in recent years to sign players on a slightly longer deal of five years, with all of the previous six summer recruits penning that length of contract.