'Light the place up': Ex-Leeds United man salutes outgoing Whites player and cites transfer hope

Tyler Roberts joined Leeds from West Brom back in January 2018 but the forward ended five and a half years as a Whites player by signing for Birmingham City last week. The forward’s progress at Leeds was often held back by injury issues which also impacted the Wales international during last season’s loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.

Roberts, though, leaves Leeds having made 108 appearances for club – of which just 60 were starts – and Prutton says the 24-year-old can be proud of his contribution, even allowing for being restricted to scoring just nine goals.

"Sometimes a different set of circumstances and a different environment can get more out of a player,” said Prutton about Roberts.

"He's 24, he's got ages left and we all understand that there are exacting and very high standards at Leeds but a century of appearances for Leeds is absolutely not too shabby at all.

"Given the huge turnover and the transient nature what is to be a player at a club like that, I think getting that amount of appearances is something to be very, very proud of and he's been at the club when its had its most recent highs and obviously the dramatic kick in the knackers as well.

"Ostensibly, he seemed like a good teammate. He would have not got as many goals as any Leeds United fan would have wished for and even more so for himself because there is a unique position as a striker for Leeds United where the greats that have gone before have really set the benchmark and I'm going back 30-40-50-60 years. That's the tough side of what it is to be a striker or an attacking player for Leeds.

"But he came, he saw, he contributed. Having been part of that club myself and coming in and attempting to do good things, you move on and then suddenly it's in your rear view and I know for a fact that he will have seen it as an absolute privilege to have been able to call it home for however long he has done for 111 games.

"Like many many players for Leeds United, he won't go down as one of the very, very best but he won't go down as one of the very worst. You find yourself in that kind of middle tranche, which is big and bursting at the seams I think."

Roberts completed his switch to Birmingham last Wednesday and the Blues will host Leeds on the second weekend of the new Championship season on Saturday, August 13.

Prutton admits there is always the danger of an ex player coming back to haunt their former side but hopes his transfer will ultimately provide the opening for somebody else to shine at Elland Road.

"It would make for a bit of synchronicity that Leeds wouldn't necessarily welcome,” said Prutton, asked about the possibility of Roberts shining against the Whites.

"But It just reflects possibly the different kind of nature of the clubs, even though we are talking about a club in Birmingham City that recently have probably had more Premier League experience on the whole than Leeds have.

"It's a tough one but he looked like he cared for Leeds in the shirt. If you are a player that has managed to get that many appearances but not as many goals as you would have liked then that second port of call is did he look like he cared? To me, I thought he did. But the other thing is that his departure hopefully opens up a gap for someone else to come in and light the place up."