It looks like quite the fall from grace for Callum Roberts. The local lad’s time at Newcastle came to an end this summer, leaving the club upon the expiry of his contract.
But no one expected his next move to be all the way down to non-league football. Alas, local side Blyth Spartans confirmed the signing of Roberts on Friday morning.
This is pretty surprising, considering he was on trial at Middlesbrough earlier in the summer. A move to the Championship would’ve been great for Roberts, with Boro a club who are great at giving young players a chance. And he would have been able to work with former Magpies defender Jonathan Woodgate.
But for whatever reason, Middlesbrough decided against offering Roberts a contract, and he’s instead had to go further down the footballing ladder.
Blyth currently play in the National League North, which is the sixth tier of English football. Sadly for them, they’re currently bottom of the league after picking up just one point from their opening six games.
Will Roberts provide the touch of class they seem to have been missing? Manager Lee Clark will certainly hope so. The former Newcastle player got the job in June this year in what looked like a real step down for him.
Clark has worked with Roberts before during a loan spell at Kilmarnock, and hopefully the pair can help Blyth climb the league table.
The 22-year-old was in and around the Newcastle first-team this year, and even got a senior Magpies goal in the FA Cup replay against Blackburn in January. Sadly, he never made a Premier League appearance and likely never will.
Good luck at Blyth Spartans!
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