It's being reported that young Brighton defender Haydon Roberts for Derby County. He's made 6senior appearances for Brighton and spent last year on loan Rochdale. We wanted to find out what the England U-21 international could bring to The Rams. We spoke with Albion Obsessed and Richie Mills, Brighton & Hove Albion reporter for Sussex Live, Seagulls Social and We Are Brighton to find out all about him.
Derby County are reportedly interested in signing young defender Haydon Roberts. What do you make of it?
Albion Obsessed: Roberts is a funny one in that it was really surprising he didn’t get a loan out last season, with Potter instead preferring to keep him training in the first team without actually using him once in the league. Many Brighton fan’s consider last year to be a bit of a waste for Roberts so a loan is definitely what he needs to aid his development.
Richie Mills: Haydon Roberts needs regular football. The Brighton academy product played 25 times on loan in the 2021/22 season for Rochdale in League One and it seemed the next step was for him to have a stint in the Championship as well.
Seagulls Social: It’s an exciting move if it happens, especially as Haydon Roberts will be linking up with Albion favourite, Liam Rosenior. Haydon needed a loan last season but never got one, so I’m glad he’s potentially getting some first team football now.
We Are Brighton: He needs to play first team football after spending last season being too good for the Albion's Under 23s but not trusted enough by Graham Potter to be involved in the Premier League. At the age of 20, it feels like he is at a crossroads in his career and needs a good season in League One under his belt to progress into the player he can become.
Are you surprised that he’s been linked with a loan move to League One?
Albion Obsessed: He spent time at Rochdale during the 20/21 season but by all accounts it was nothing to write home about. After a year training with our first team and playing in the cups against Championship opponents, where he faired well, a lob to a competitive league 1 seems like the best move for all parties.
Richie Mills: While Roberts said he benefitted training with Brighton's first team, I think a loan would have done him good last season, at least for the second half of it. A move to Derby County makes sense as they are a huge club. He did well at Rochdale as an 18/19-year-old.
Seagulls Social: I am surprised he’s potentially dropping to league one. When Leeds got promoted to the Premier League they were interested in loaning Roberts for their first season, which shows the level they thought he was at, at the time.
We Are Brighton: A little bit, yes. Brighton tend to work their players through the divisions from League Two to League One to Championship. Roberts did a spell with Rochdale two seasons ago, so has ticked off League One as it were. Most Albion fans would have expected his next move to be to a Championship club. The Liam Rosenior factor probably helps in terms of him heading to League One again instead. Rosenior is very highly thought of by Brighton thanks to his work coaching the Under 23s and a lot of people think he will return to the Amex one day if his managerial career takes off. The Albion clearly have a lot of faith and believe in him helping to progress their players to consider sending Roberts to Pride Park.
Is he well thought of at Brighton? What are his strengths? His weaknesses?
Richie Mills: He is very highly thought of at Brighton but his contract expires next summer, although I cannot see him leaving for the time being. Roberts is seen as one of their most exciting academy players, particularly due to his athleticism, and ball-playing skills. He's got a good left foot, the ability to drive forward with the ball from the back, and versatility. Sometimes he can get caught in possession and as he is just under 6ft tall he is not the strongest in the air but that can be worked on - but he has a good leap, mind.
Seagulls Social: The club and supporters are all big fans of Roberts. He has great potential and was on the fringes of the first team last season, making appearances on the bench, which shows how much faith Graham Potter has in him.
Maybe as a centre-back you’d traditionally want a bit more height on Haydon, but what he lacks in height (compared with most CBs) but he makes up for in composure and his ball playing ability. He’s a rare breed as a left-footed CB, so it’ll be interesting to see how Rosenior uses him, as LCB in a back three or two. Personally, I’d have him in a back three in Potter’s system.
He’s also not afraid to carry the ball forward and create chances, as we saw last season in the cup against Cardiff when he played a great ball to Zeqiri who unfortunately missed his chance.
We Are Brighton: Supporters certainly rate him, to the point where a lot were clamouring for him to start in the Premier League back in February and March. Brighton were undergoing a centre back shortage at the time, meaning that Graham Potter abandoned his normal 3-5-2 formation for a back four. The Albion were shocking after the change to the point that a number of fans wanted Roberts to start alongside Shane Duffy and Joel Veltman so the Alvion could return to a three. Potter did not agree, instead using Marc Cucurella out-of-position as a third centre back. That ended up working in the end, but it also sent a clear sign that Potter does not feel Roberts is ready for the Premier League yet.
He is the obvious heir to Lewis Dunk. Both are homegrown defenders, both are comfortable on the ball and both are obviously natural born leaders. You can tell it in Roberts even though he is only 20 in the same way you could when Dunk was that age breaking into the first team under Gus Poyet. He has a cheeky eye for goal too - he scored on his debut as a 17-year-old against Aston Villa in the League Cup a few seasons ago.
As a centre-half, is he comfortable on the ball or is he more of an old-fashioned defender? Is he only a centre-half or can he play as a fullback as well?
Albion Obsessed: Roberts is quite quick and nippy and plays well in a back three. He’s very much a ball playing defender, who has also played at fullback for our U23s. He’s naturally left footed which is a nice option to have. Although not the tallest, he’s reasonably good in the air, albeit not as commanding as taller centre backs. I seemingly remember he scored from a corner against Aston Villa in the cup a few seasons ago on his debut so he knows where the goal is.
Richie Mills: The defender, who can play at left-back or centre-back, played just three times for the first-team last term, and all of those were in the Carabao Cup between August and October. He either had to make do with being an unused substitute in the Premier League, where he is yet to make his debut, or under-23 matches.
Seagulls Social: He’s definitely more of a modern centre-back in terms of technical ability. He’s traditionally a CB but I believe he’s been used at LB and also defensive midfield during his time in the academy.
We Are Brighton: He is very much a central defender, although Potter's desire for versatility means that Roberts has been used as a defensive midfielder on occasions. That he has done reasonably well there tells you he is good on the ball and suits a possession style of play. He can play in a back three or a back four but you would not want him out wide.
What would it take for him this loan spell to be considered a success?
Albion Obsessed: For the loan to be considered a success I suppose it’d be all about how much game time he gets. If he can play the majority of games and play well, it will be a good move for the lad. Worst case scenario, if the game time isn’t coming his way we may recall him. He’s still young and he’s certainly talented enough to do well at L1 level.
Richie Mills: Haydon Roberts needs regular football. The Brighton academy product played 25 times on loan in the 2021/22 season for Rochdale in League One and it seemed the next step was for him to have a stint in the Championship as well.
Graham Potter said this in April on the 20-year-old. He told Sussex Live:
"I think every player wants to play, it would be strange if that wasn't the case. In the first part of the season he started off well, our defenders were doing well, and we have got a strong area there. In January [we were] looking for more football [for him] but that didn't come for whatever reason which has meant he has had to play a bit more for the under-23s and develop that way. "Like any player, there comes a point where you need to play football, and play football more regularly. I think he has learnt a lot and grown but to get the benefit of this period he needs to go and play football and hopefully next season that can be the plan."
Seagulls Social: After not making a lot of first team appearances last season, I think getting a lot of minutes at Derby would be a personal success for him. If he performs well in those minutes and becomes a fan favourite, then that would be a great success.
From what we’ve seen of Haydon and the potential he has, he should/could be one of the best centre-backs in League One, next season. Hopefully, Liam Rosenior can get the best out of him.
We Are Brighton: With that League One relegation at Rochdale on his CV, he probably needs to be a standout player for Derby this season. A dominant year in which he looks at home in League One would set him up for either a season in the Championship next year or a tilt at the Brighton first team squad.
Do you think he can be good player in League One for Derby?
We Are Brighton: Yes. Having been one of a handful of Brighton fans sad enough to go to Cardiff City for a League Cup second round tie last season, he was one of the best Brighton players on the pitch. If he can replicate that form week-in, week-out in League One that hopefully he can help Derby towards the top of the table and put himself back on Potter's radar.
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