Sunderland man Patrick Roberts makes Danny Batth admission and compares Chris Rigg to Amad

Patrick Roberts has paid tribute to former Sunderland teammate Danny Batth - and has admitted taking his shirt after the game against Blackburn Rovers.

The pair started on opposite sides as Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers played out a 2-2 draw at Ewood Park in the Championship on Boxing Day. Batth started the game for the home side in what was his first appearance against Sunderland since leaving the club two transfer windows ago.

After the game, however, Roberts was quick to pay tribute to the Sunderland promotion-winner, who he remains close friends with both players having joined the Black Cats during the same transfer window whilst the club was still in League One.

“He's a good friend of mine since I arrived, and I've got Danny's shirt (after the game),” Roberts said post-Blackburn Rovers. “He's a good lad. He's a good mate of mine. Playing for him when we both came together in League One and obviously the following season. It's good to see him still out there, being a big block at the back. On days like this, I wish he'd been a bit worse.

“He's a good boy. He's one of my mates in football. It was nice to see him again. He got a good reception, I think, before the game, which was nice. I didn’t see the moment at the end with our fans but that is nice. He got Player of the Year, I think, that season. He was a good player and still is a good player. It was nice to see him again.”

Roberts enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Amad Diallo two seasons ago with the Manchester United man lighting up the Stadium of Light during a loan spell under Tony Mowbray. Since his return to Old Trafford, 17-year-old Chris Rigg has stepped into Amad’s shoes to link up with Roberts and Trai Hume on the right-hand side of Sunderland’s attack.

“He was always destined for great things,” Roberts reflected on Amad. “It was a joy to play with him but as Sunderland will do, he's the next person in line.You've got Chris Rigg, a young boy. He's not even 18 yet. He's got all the attributes to go on to do great things as well.

“It's just nice to play with these players. They're both different, but you learn off that. You learn their different ways and different types of players, but it's the same quality. We'll see. He's just a different player, but it feels the same. It's good.

“It's a bit different. It's a different type of player, but the quality is still there. With Trai, I've played with Trai for a couple of seasons and I know his game. I'm always helping him out defensively, which he needs from me. But he'll just smash someone, so it's fine anyway. Both ends, attacking and defensively, we try and help each other out as much as possible.

“I know he's going to be on the overlap and I always know Riggiy’s inside, and Trai’s around me. It can be quite hard if teams are very aggressive, but if I have time on the ball, it's things I look for. They're always there to give me options and it's great to play with. Hopefully, we can keep that going for the rest of the season.”