Mitchell Roberts

Mitchell Anthony Roberts (born 16 September 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Carlisle United of EFL League Two, on loan from EFL Championship club Birmingham City. He made his Football League debut while on loan to Harrogate Town of League Two in 2021.

Mitchell Roberts
Personal information
Full name Mitchell Anthony Roberts[1]
Date of birth (2000-09-16) 16 September 2000[2]
Place of birth Hagley, England
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Carlisle United (on loan from Birmingham City)
Number 28
Youth career
2011–2020 Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Birmingham City 1 (0)
2021 → Harrogate Town (loan) 4 (0)
2022– → Carlisle United (loan) 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:03, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Early and personal life

Roberts was born in Hagley, Worcestershire, where he attended Haybridge High School. He was a childhood fan of West Bromwich Albion.[2]

Career

Early career

Roberts joined Birmingham City's Academy as a 10-year-old in 2011, having previously played Sunday League football,[2][3] and took up a two-year scholarship in July 2017.[4] His first year was interrupted by a knee injury,[5] but he was able to move into the development squad in his second.[3] He was offered a two-year professional contract in March 2019,[6] and signed it in June.[3]

Rumours in the 2019 summer transfer window linked Roberts with a move to then Premier League champions Manchester City and Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, and it was reported that Birmingham were willing to sell "at the right price".[5] He did not leave, played 18 times for Birmingham's under-23 team during the abbreviated 2019–20 season, and signed a two-year professional contract in July 2020.[7]

He was used in pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2020–21 season,[8] but was not listed among those allocated a squad number.[9]

Harrogate Town loan

Roberts joined League Two newcomers Harrogate Town on 8 January 2021 on loan until the end of the 2020–21 season.[10] He made his club and Football League debut the next day, starting at left back in a 2–1 defeat away to Cambridge United.[11] He played for 54 minutes, during which he received a yellow card for a bad tackle, before being replaced by Jay Williams because of a hamstring injury.[12] He received treatment at Birmingham before returning to Harrogate towards the end of March,[13] and next appeared in the first team on 20 April, playing the whole of a 3–0 home defeat. He played twice more, finishing his loan spell with four appearances.[14]

Return to Birmingham

Roberts made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the EFL Cup second-round match at home to Fulham. Starting in a three-man defence alongside the experienced George Friend and fellow debutant Dion Sanderson, he played the whole of the 2–0 defeat.[15] Roberts made his first Championship appearance on 7 November 2021 when, with five senior defenders unavailable through injury, he started on the left of a back three in a 2–1 defeat at home to Reading.[16]

Carlisle United loan

Having made no further appearances for Birmingham, Roberts signed on loan for League Two club Carlisle United on 31 January 2022.[17] He made his debut on 12 February, starting in a back three in a 2–2 draw away to Colchester United described by the News and Star as a "grim struggle".[18]

Career statistics
As of match played 18 April 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 2020–21[14] Championship 000000—00
2021–22[19] Championship 100010—20
Total 100010—20
Harrogate Town (loan) 2020–21[14] League Two 40———40
Carlisle United (loan) 2021–22[19] League Two 50———50
Career total 1000010—110

    References
    1. "Club list of registered players" (PDF). English Football League. 23 June 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    2. "Mitchell Roberts". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    3. "Mitch Roberts signs professional deal with Blues". Birmingham City F.C. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    4. "List of Players Registered as Scholars in Accordance with Rule C.3 Between 01/07/2017 and 31/07/2017". The Football Association. p. 58. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
    5. "Deals for Blues scholars". Birmingham City F.C. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    6. "Young Blues pair sign new contracts". Birmingham City F.C. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    7. Chapman, Joseph (26 August 2020). "Birmingham City 0 Leicester City 2: Foxes see off Aitor Karanka's side". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    8. "Men's squad numbers revealed". Birmingham City F.C. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    9. Howell, Rhys (8 January 2021). "Mitchell Roberts 'buzzing' to join Harrogate Town on loan from Birmingham City". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    10. "Cambridge United 2–1 Harrogate". BBC Sport. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    11. Howell, Rhys (10 January 2021). "Cambridge United 2 Harrogate Town 1: Advertiser player ratings". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    12. Rayner, Stuart (26 March 2021). "Josh Andrews and Mitch Roberts back but Harrogate Town will not rush them onto the pitch". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
    13. "Games played by Mitchell Roberts in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
    14. "EFL Cup: Birmingham City 0–2 Fulham". BBC Sport. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
    15. Dick, Brian (7 November 2021). "'Different animal' – Lee Bowyer promises Birmingham City investigation". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
    16. "Birmingham City: Carlisle sign Mitchell Roberts as Ivan Sanchez joins Real Valladolid". BBC Sport. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
    17. Colman, Jon (12 February 2022). "Colchester United 2–2 Carlisle United: Sho-Silva rescues late point for Blues". News and Star. Carlisle. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
    18. "Games played by Mitchell Roberts in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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