Sunderland have bought Patrick Roberts from Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £3m.
Roberts was signed by Manuel Pellegrini in 2015 for £5.6m on the back of an exciting start to his professional career as an 18-year-old with Fulham, and he impressed on an 18-month loan to Celtic after brief appearances for City in the Carabao Cup and Premier League; after helping the Scottish side to a league-and-cup double, he scored at the Etihad in December 2016 against Pep Guardiola's side in a Champions League game.
But the player's form took a tumble in the 2017/18 campaign after picking Celtic for a third season against the wishes of some at City, who had eyed CFG club Girona as his next step, and he never got close to consideration for the first team under Guardiola from that point.
Roberts did eventually spend a year in La Liga with Girona and also headed to Ligue 1 this year to fellow CFG club ESTAC Troyes, bookending other loan moves in the Premier League with Norwich before two separate spells with Middlesbrough and one with Derby County in the Championship.
Having struggled to get opportunities in France this season, Roberts was keen on a fresh start and League One promotion contenders Sunderland have seen enough from the 24-year-old to buy him in the January window rather than take him on loan or wait for his contract to expire.
The upfront fee is thought to be nominal, but the potential still seen in Roberts is reflected in clauses that could ultimately see the Black Cats end up paying City £3m, nearly half of what they paid for him back in 2015.
