What we know about Patrick Roberts' Sunderland future and where contract talks stand explained

With Patrick Roberts now in the last year of his deal and with strong summer interest from other clubs, speculation over his long-term future at the club has ramped up in recent times.

So what do we actually know about the story so far, where things currently stand and what the most likely next steps for all parties are?

Here, we answer the key questions…

So what happened on deadline day?

On deadline day itself, not a great deal.

Southampton, in the process of signing Ross Stewart for a significant fee, had the previous evening firmed up their interest in Roberts with a bid.

The bid was believed to be in the region of £5 million, with some of that an upfront payment and some it to be potentially realised in add-ons further down the line.

Given that Roberts had entered the final year of his deal there was obvious concern that Sunderland were in a weakened position to resist the approach but they didn’t want to lose the winger, who had arguably grown in importance even further since Amad’s return to Manchester United.

The initial bid was rejected, and it was made clear that Sunderland’s stance would not change unless there was a huge change in the valuation.

That ultimately deterred Southampton from returning in a meaningful way and the window passed without too much further drama, and with Roberts still very much a Sunderland player.

So presumably Sunderland are keen to try and sort a new deal, then?

Yes, most definitely.

Kristjaan Speakman confirmed to The Echo last week that conversations had begun over a new deal, praising the winger’s performances since his arrival from Manchester City.

“Patrick is a player that we’d like to retain,” Speakman said. 

“He’s been an outstanding performer for us on the pitch.”

What do we know about where those negotiations stand?

Sunderland are believed to have made an opening offer to Roberts in the aftermath of the club’s pre-season tour of the US, around late July.

Not unusually, that initial offer did not lead to an immediate agreement and with a hectic close to the transfer window looming (Sunderland sanctioned 8 deals on deadline day), the club intimated that they would like to conclude their summer business before addressing the next stages of the negotiations. 

They are understood to have returned with an improved offer since the closing of the window, which should see the talks step up both in frequency and intensity. Given that Roberts is in his final year, it now appears to be one of Speakman’s top priorities. 

Asked for an update on the progression of talks last week, Speakman told The Echo: “That conversation has been ongoing and I think that’s something that we will now pick back up. “When you get to the latter end of the transfer window I think it’s always difficult to conclude those talks. We’ll continue to have those conversations with Patrick and some other players."

Sunderland have now made their move and have signalled their willingness to reward Roberts’ contribution and progress in recent times.

What do we know about where Roberts stands in all of this?

To an extent, only time will tell.

What we know for certain is that Roberts is very happy on Wearside. The 26-year-old feels he has found a footballing home after the nomadic phase of his career that followed a spectacularly successful loan at Celtic.

Roberts is pretty much a certain starter whenever fit and has a head coach who not only raves about his best attributes, but encourages him to play with freedom and take the kind of risks in possession that can hurt the opposition. Given his experiences at some clubs prior to arriving on Wearside, that is not something that is taken for granted.

When Roberts was loosely linked with a potential move to Celtic towards the end of the window, Tony Mowbray said he was pretty confident that one of his star players was in no rush to move on: "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," he added.

"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."

Clearly, the will is there on all sides to get something agreed.

The question, of course, is whether and to what extent the interest from Southampton has weakened Sunderland’s hand in the current talks.

So how confident should we be that a new deal can be agreed?

At this stage, it’s simply too early to tell. 

The key issue for Sunderland very obviously is that Southampton have underlined that Roberts’ stock has now been firmly rebuilt, and so as a free agent he would clearly be able to land a significant deal. There’s every chance that it would be a contract, as was the case with Stewart, in excess of where Sunderland’s wage structure currently stands.

However, Sunderland are working to build and lift that wage budget over time as they become established in the division and work towards promotion to the Premier League. 

Sources have indicated that they are absolutely keen to improve Roberts’ current terms and that steps have already been taken to try and do so in the most recent offer.

Speaking at his pre-QPR press conference on Thursday, Mowbray made clear that he had absolutely no concerns about Roberts in the interim.

“You know my thoughts on Patrick, he's a special footballer,” he said.

“I’ve said before that I don’t get involved in these things. My hope would be that the club can conclude that situation. What I do know is that Patrick will continue to give everything for the team on the grass.

“He is a wonderful kid and he’s got so much talent. Let’s wait and see. I don’t know what the numbers are so I’m just hoping one day I’m asked to go and take a photo with Patrick signing his new contract. He’ll give his everything, I know that, and we’ll see how we go.”

The million-dollar question as always is whether both parties can find that common ground.

At this stage, Sunderland certainly believe that they can make a competitive offer. Time will tell whether that proves to be enough.