Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who contributes for Sky Sports, has slammed Tyler Roberts for his recent performances in a Leeds shirt.
It’s fair to say that the Welshman has not had the best couple of seasons at Leeds United since they were promoted back to the Premier League in 2020. He has made 48 appearances for the Elland Road outfit in the top flight, but only has two goals and three assists to show for it.
And whilst that might have been fine last season when Leeds were flying in the division, given where the Whites are now – in danger of being dragged deep into a relegation battle – he really should be bringing more to the table.
He recently came on for Leeds in their defeat to Everton, replacing the club’s top scorer Raphinha in what Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa dubbed a tactical decision.
Speaking in an interview with MOTLeedsNews, Robinson was not only critical of the performances that the 23-year-old put in, but also took a shot at Bielsa for his continual desire to keep playing him even though he isn’t bringing much to the team, such as the game at Goodison Park.
He said: “Bielsa took Raphinha off for Roberts, who, unfortunately, is nowhere near the level you’d want him to be at. Raphinha has been the best player at Leeds for the last two seasons and Roberts cost us the game against Newcastle.
“He came on off the bench [at St. James’ Park], which was a strange decision. He lost possession in that and cost us that game. Roberts has not played particularly well this season at all, and you take the best player that we’ve had this season who’s been linked with Champions League sides off and put him on.”
TIF Thoughts on Paul Robinson’s comments on Tyler Roberts at Leeds United…
Should Leeds sell Tyler Roberts?
Yes!
No!
It certainly does make you wonder exactly what Bielsa sees in Roberts. Whilst you can allow some time for him to improve when you factor in his age, adapting to Bielsa’s style and adjusting to the Premier League after putting up somewhat respectable numbers in the Championship, there has to come a point where you wonder if Roberts has hit a brick wall in his development.
There were opportunities for him to leave the club in the past, with reports in last year’s January transfer window claiming that Leeds ‘rejected several approaches’ for him, and in hindsight, perhaps they would have been better off letting him go, because Roberts hasn’t exactly brought much to the club since then.
And this summer, unless he suddenly kicks into gear and starts making a worthy contribution, it might be worth looking into the idea of letting him leave the club, selling him on and investing in someone that can make more of an impact on the Leeds side.
In other news: BT pundit wowed by Leeds ‘talent’ who averages over 3x as many key passes as Phillips