Derby County have secured the loan signing of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Haydon Roberts as he becomes the seventh player to join the club this summer.
The defender has joined on a season-long loan deal from the Premier League side and bolsters the Rams’ options at the back as they prepare for life in Sky Bet League One in 2022/23.
Here is a little more information about Derby’s newest recruit.
Young Pup
At the age of just 20, Roberts is still learning his trade in the game. Born in May 2002, the defender has progressed through the youth system at his boyhood club Brighton & Hove Albion where he has continued to show promise rising up the age groups.
He was actually fast-tracked into the Under-18s set up at the age of 15. He made his debut for the Under-18s in September 2017 against Norwich City in a 1-0 victory, whilst his first five games were all played at left-back. He did later move into a central defensive role, whilst he also played a number of games just in front of the back four to raise his awareness.
Already testing himself against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, Roberts’ involvement in the Under-18s meant he was playing against players almost three years older than himself. This gave him a good grounding as he made 17 appearances in total.
He even managed to get himself on the scoresheet in a convincing 4-0 victory over Swansea City, whilst he also contributed three assists during an impressive debut campaign with the Seagulls’ Under-18s squad.
He stepped up to become a first year scholar during the 2018/19 campaign, and with experience under his belt, he made another natural progression. He started the season with the club’s Under-18s team, playing eight times, but he was soon stepping up once again as he was awarded regular minutes in the Under-23s squad, of which Liam Rosenior was a coach.
He played in fixtures big hitters Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, testing himself against players who are now household names in the Premier League including England international Bukayo Saka and Curtis Jones, who recently won the Premier League with Liverpool.
He scored his first Under-23s goal in a 5-0 victory over Manchester City before adding to his total in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. He would finish the season playing 22 games across the Under-18s and Under-23s set ups, scoring four goals.
International Recognition
Roberts’ potential hasn’t only just been seen by the Brighton staff. He has also alerted the England coaches to his undoubted talents as he has appeared for both the England Under-17s and Under-18s squads.
He made his debut for the Under-17s as a 16-year-old, playing an hour in a 6-0 demolition of Norway, whilst a couple of days later, he played the full game and starred in a 2-1 victory over Portugal.
In fact, in the 14 times he appeared for England’s Under-17s, he only tasted defeat once, which came against the Netherlands in the 2019 UEFA Under-17s European Championships, which he was selected for.
Following the tournament, Roberts stepped up to the Under-18s squad and played alongside former Rams loanee Teden Mengi at the heart of the defence. He made five appearances, four of which were wins whilst the other ended in a draw against Brazil.
On The Big Stage
Roberts was a second-year scholar during the 2019/20 campaign, but didn’t actually appear for the Under-18s squad at all that season. Instead, he played for the club’s Under-23s squad, but did appear in the FA Youth Cup.
He made 14 appearances for the Under-23s across the season, but the campaign would be one of progression, despite the halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak as he made his first-team debut for Brighton & Hove Albion.
The defender was named in Graham Potter’s starting line-up for an Carabao Cup Round Three clash against Aston Villa at the American Express Community Stadium. It was a chance to test himself on the biggest stage, with the Villans naming a strong line up and he more than held his own.
In fact, he scored Brighton’s only goal of the game, heading home from a corner, in a 3-1 defeat. Ironically, Conor Hourihane was on the scoresheet that night, too. But, it was a big moment for Roberts, who at the age of 17 had achieved one of his dreams of playing in the first-team at the club he supported from a young age.
He made three more competitive appearances for Brighton that season in the EFL Trophy but they exited the competition at the group stage. Following the curtailment of the Under-23s and Under-18s season, though, that would see his campaign come to an end.
However, the following season provided a new opportunity for the youngster. He left the comfort zone of Brighton and moved hundreds of miles north to Rochdale to test himself against experienced professionals.
Roberts did play three times for the Seagulls, however, before making the move. He played in an EFL Trophy fixture against Leyton Orient, whilst he featured in two of their EFL Cup clashes in wins over Portsmouth and Preston North End, but the move to the north west was necessary for his development.
He made his league debut for Dale in a 1-0 victory over Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium and enjoyed a strong start to his spell at Spotland. However, following the turn of the year and playing behind-closed-doors owing to the pandemic, Rochdale started to struggle as they bid to avoid relegation to the fourth tier of English football.
Roberts played his part as he continued to shine, but it wasn’t enough for Rochdale to avoid relegation to the bottom tier of the EFL. In total, he made 26 appearances for Brian Barry-Murphy’s side.
The defender returned to Brighton last season and trained with the first-team squad, whilst also appeared for the club’s Under-23s, playing nine times. He was on the bench in Premier League fixtures 14 times but did not manage to make his Brighton debut, whilst he made three competitive appearances once again in the Carabao Cup.
The England youth international played the full game in a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City in Round Two and in a 2-0 victory over Swansea City in Round Three, whilst he was replaced on 69 minutes as Brighton exited the competition on penalties against fellow Premier League side Leicester City.
Roberts now joins Derby ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as the Rams prepare for the upcoming Sky Bet League One campaign.
