Tyler Roberts has signed a new contract with Leeds United running to 2024 less than five months after weighing up an Elland Road loan exit.
The Wales international signed off on the last of the paperwork yesterday in Baku, Azerbaijan where his international squad are making their final preparations for Euro 2020.
Roberts’s previous deal was set to expire in June 2022 and after going more than four months without a start last season there were questions on United’s need for him.
However, a run of 12 consecutive starts from mid-February saw his form improve and provided a reminder of the potential the club have on their hands in this 22-year-old.
“I’m extremely happy to be signing. It’s a club I have a lot of love for and a lot of passion so I’m just happy to get it done and know my future is here,” he said.
Roberts did see chances put his way by Marcelo Bielsa in the early part of last season with starts against Sheffield United and Manchester City before he found himself frozen out.
While he was always a part of the main group at Thorp Arch and in matchday squads when fit, Roberts could not find any form to convince Bielsa it was his turn to start again.
“It was a tough start to the season for me,” said Roberts. “ I didn’t really find my feet too early.
“It was great the manager trusted me and kept the faith in me and gave me that run of games to find form and fitness.”
By the time the January transfer window ticked around there became an obvious opportunity to reassess matters and loan interest from the Championship stiffened.
There were decisions to be made, but Bielsa wanted to stand by Roberts and gave him what proved to be a vital chance from the bench at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, when he finally showed a spark of some kind again.
Asked how he felt about his future in January, Roberts said: “I’ve always, since I’ve got here, been in love with the club and city so I was always hoping I could push on and get into the team and then earn another contract.
“I love the club and it’s brought me on so much. The people inside it are amazing, so I was hoping this was the outcome and I’m just happy it’s done.”
Roberts would finish the season with more minutes than Rodrigo, Diego Llorente, Helder Costa, Robin Koch and Pablo Hernandez.
That’s a fact which underlines both Roberts’s vastly improved injury record and Bielsa’s undeniable faith in him.
At 22, Leeds have a senior international with 28 Premier League appearances to his name under the wing of a master coach.
