Connor Richard John Roberts (born 23 September 1995) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a right-back for EFL Championship club Leeds United on loan from Premier League club Burnley, and the Wales national team.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Connor Richard John Roberts[1] | ||
Date of birth | 23 September 1995 | ||
Place of birth | Neath, Wales | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Right-back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team |
Leeds United (on loan from Burnley) | ||
Number | 33 | ||
Youth career | |||
2004–2015 | Swansea City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2021 | Swansea City | 133 | (11) |
2015–2016 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 45 | (0) |
2016 | → Bristol Rovers (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2017–2018 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2021– | Burnley | 78 | (5) |
2024– | → Leeds United (loan) | 11 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2014 | Wales U19 | 1 | (0) |
2016 | Wales U21 | 2 | (1) |
2018– | Wales | 55 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:09, 19 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:28, 26 March 2024 (UTC) |
Born in Neath, Roberts grew up in the nearby village of Crynant in Neath Port Talbot and joined Swansea City's Youth Academy at the age of 9.[3] After progressing through the academy, Roberts won the 2014–15 Professional U21 Development League 2 title in his debut professional season and was rewarded with a new two-year contract.[4]
Roberts signed a new three-year contract with Swansea City in September 2016.[5] Upon returning from Bristol Rovers, Roberts linked up with Swansea City Under-23s and went on to win the 2016–17 Professional U23 Development League 2 title and 2016–17 Premier League Cup.[6][7]
On 8 August 2015, Roberts joined League Two club Yeovil Town on a one-month loan deal,[8] and made his debut later that day in a 3–2 defeat against Exeter City.[9] Roberts quickly established himself at Huish Park, and the Glovers extended Roberts' loan contract to the end of the 2015–16 season.[10] Roberts made 54 appearances for Yeovil over the course of the season, missing just one match due to a call-up to the Wales under-21 national team. Roberts received three Player of the Year Awards and was also voted Young Player of the Year.[11]
In August 2016, Roberts joined League One club Bristol Rovers on a six-month loan deal.[12] Roberts made his debut in a 3–2 victory over Northampton Town on 1 October 2016, and made a further four appearances for the Pirates before returning to Swansea.[13][14]
On 14 July 2017, it was announced that Roberts would be joining Championship club Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal.[15] After making one league appearance his loan spell was terminated in January and he returned to Swansea City.
Roberts made his debut for Swansea City on 6 January 2018 in the FA Cup third round against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[16] On 29 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Queens Park Rangers.[17] On 3 June 2021, Roberts was named Swansea City Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season.[18]
On 31 August 2021, Roberts joined Premier League side Burnley for an undisclosed fee signing a four-year deal.[19][20] On 23 April 2023 Roberts was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season.[21]
On 1 February 2024, Roberts joined EFL Championship side Leeds United on loan until the end of the 2023–24 season.[22]
He scored his first goal for Leeds United against Leicester City on 23 February 2023, the equaliser in a 3-1 home win.[23]
Roberts has been capped at Wales under-19 level.[24] In March 2016, Roberts received his first call-up to the Wales under-21 side for their 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches,[25] and made his debut as a second-half substitute in their 2–1 defeat against Romania, on 29 March 2016.
He was called into the Wales national football team for the first time on 15 March 2018.[26] He made his senior international debut in the China Cup final against Uruguay in March 2018 when he came on as a 59th minute substitute for Declan John.[27] Roberts scored his first goal for the senior team in a 4–1 victory over the Republic of Ireland on 6 September 2018, finishing a half-volley set up by Gareth Bale. In May 2021, he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[28] On 16 June, Roberts scored the second goal in a 2–0 win against Turkey, once again assisted by Bale.[29] On 26 June, Roberts' participation in the tournament ended due to a groin injury sustained in the first half, and Wales went on to lose 4–0 to Denmark.[30]
In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[31]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Swansea City | 2015–16[32] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2016–17[33] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
2017–18[34] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
2018–19[35] | Championship | 45 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 49 | 5 | ||
2019–20[36] | Championship | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 42 | 1 | |
2020–21[37] | Championship | 46 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 50 | 5 | |
Total | 133 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 152 | 11 | ||
Yeovil Town (loan) | 2015–16[32] | League Two | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 54 | 0 |
Bristol Rovers (loan) | 2016–17[33] | League One | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Middlesbrough (loan) | 2017–18[34] | Championship | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
Burnley | 2021–22[38] | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |
2022–23[39] | Championship | 43 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 50 | 5 | ||
2023–24[40] | Premier League | 14 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
Total | 78 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 88 | 6 | |||
Leeds United (loan) | 2023–24[40] | Championship | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
Career total | 267 | 17 | 26 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 312 | 18 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Wales | 2018 | 8 | 1 |
2019 | 8 | 0 | |
2020 | 6 | 0 | |
2021 | 12 | 2 | |
2022 | 10 | 0 | |
2023 | 9 | 0 | |
2024 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 55 | 3 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 September 2018 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 3 | Republic of Ireland | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B |
2 | 16 June 2021 | Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan | 28 | Turkey | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 |
3 | 13 November 2021 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 33 | Belarus | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Swansea City U23
Burnley
Individual