Queens Park Rangers head coach Michael Beale has backed Leeds United loanee Tyler Roberts to be a success at the London club.
Roberts, who had interest from a number of Championship clubs, joined QPR on a season-long loan last week. The 23-year-old was used regularly under former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, playing an integral role in the Whites' promotion-winning season in 2019/20, but he picked up an injury in March and was therefore rarely picked by Jesse Marsch.
The Welshman made 23 Premier League appearances last term, scoring in the Whites' 2-2 draw with Brentford last December. Roberts has only scored nine times in 108 games for Leeds, but his new head coach has no concerns about his goalscoring record.
“I think everyone should be excited about having Tyler here because I think he’s got huge motivation to be here,” Beale said told West London Sport.
“He turned down four or five clubs to be here, which I think is key as well. When we’re talking to players of course we want to entice them to our club, but we also want that player to really want to come and be part of what we’re doing.
“I think when you look at Tyler, he’s a 23-year-old who has won the Championship, has 19 international appearances, and has played 60 or 70 games in the Premier League.
“He is very, very experienced – more experienced than the other young players we have – and already in training you can see what he’s going to bring in terms of power and athleticism.
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“I would say that he’s a player that will score goals if he’s played consistently in the attacking areas and that’s what we’re looking to do with him.
“I see him as a hybrid (forward). I worked with a player who was similar to him in Kemar Roofe. I think he’s got similar traits to (Roberto) Firmino.
“He’s like a nine-and-a-half, ten-and-a-half, if you want to use these modern terms that people use now. He’s a striker that drops in and he actually has got more ability than the guy who just stays in the box. He’s very mobile. He’s a hybrid player which I like. He has got a lot of transferable skills.”
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