Carlisle United have signed another defender on transfer deadline day, with 21-year-old Mitchell Roberts joining on loan from Birmingham City.
Worcester-born Roberts – a West Brom fan as a kid – is an academy graduate with the Midlands club and gained League Two experience with Harrogate Town last season.
He played for Birmingham in their Carabao Cup clash with Fulham in August and then made his Championship debut against Reading at St Andrew’s in November.
He had joined Birmingham’s Academy as a 10-year-old in 2011, having previously played Sunday League football, and took up a two-year scholarship in July 2017.
His first year was interrupted by a knee injury, but he was able to move into the development squad in his second and offered a two-year professional contract which he signed in June 2019.
Rumours for that summer transfer window linked Roberts with a move to the Premier League champions Manchester City or Scottish giants Rangers but nothing materialised.
He subsequently 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.
He was used in pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2020–21 season but was not listed among those allocated a squad number.
Last January he joined Harrogate Town on loan until the end of the season but picked up a hamstring injury which reduced his appearances to just four.
This season he played for Birmingham in a 2-0 home defeat by Fulham in the second round of the EFL Cup and made his first Championship appearance in November in a 2-1 home defeat by Reading.
