Birmingham City might have pulled off a masterstroke by signing Tyler Roberts from Leeds United

Birmingham City signings rarely come without a caveat of some description – and Tyler Roberts is no different.

He spent a large part of last season on the treatment table at Queens Park Rangers, which wrecked a loan spell that was supposed to reignite his career, after niggles and knocks blighted what proved to be his final campaign at Leeds United. The success of Blues’ deal for Roberts will undoubtedly be determined by how often they can get him on the pitch.

Leeds managed it for large parts of Marcelo Bielsa’s first two seasons in charge and were rewarded, not by a big return of goals and assists, but by Roberts’ willingness to work for the team and do the jobs being asked of him.

It would be easy to sit here and measure Roberts against a goalscoring record which doesn’t paint the full picture. Nine goals in 101 league games doesn’t reflect well on any striker.

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But there are factors to consider where Roberts is concerned. Almost half of those games came in the Premier League for starters, which is a much more difficult stage than the Championship one Blues hope the 24-year-old can thrive on again.

Almost half of those appearances came as a substitute, with Roberts often playing second fiddle to Patrick Bamford at Elland Road – although he did threaten to usurp the one-time England international in early 2020.

LeedsLive’s Beren Cross explained: “In those first two seasons under Bielsa between 2018 and 2020, Roberts did impress at points, to the extent he was seen as a genuine threat to Bamford’s starter status before Covid hit football in March 2020.”

Roberts wasn’t always used as a striker either. He did occasionally operate in a more withdrawn role in support of Bamford, while parts of his career have been spent out wide on the left wing.

From Blues’ point of view, they are signing a talented player with a ceiling higher than the Championship if all goes to plan. By giving Roberts a four-year contract they are protecting their investment, albeit taking a small risk on a player with a history of injury problems.

The fee Blues have paid, which is significantly lower than the reported £750,000 and a small fraction of what Leeds paid West Bromwich Albion for Roberts in 2018, makes it a smaller risk than some would have you believe.

If John Eustace can get Roberts firing and – most importantly – keep him fit, we could look back on this transfer as a masterstroke.