Will Jennings: Tzolis could learn lesson from ex-City flop Roberts

I wasn’t alone - an old university mate had made the long trip down from the north-east - and, accompanied by almost 6,000 other loyal Sunderland fans, we descended on Craven Cottage for an old-school cracker of an FA Cup tie. 

There was end-to-end drama, a temporary late twist and, at the end of it all, a replay at the Stadium of Light as Marco Silva’s Premier League high-fliers snatched a second-half leveller through Tom Cairney. 

As their Championship league position suggests, Sunderland looked a seriously strong side with a front four of Ross Stewart - who went off injured after 20 minutes - Amad Diallo, goalscorer Jack Clarke and a certain Patrick Roberts proving a constant handful throughout large parts of the opening period.

Patrick Roberts, left, in action for Sunderland during their FA Cup tie at Fulham (Image: PA Images)

But it was Roberts, a loan signing for City after Daniel Farke’s side sealed Championship promotion in 2019, who looked without doubt their most potent attacking threat, running Layvin Kurzawa ragged down the right hand-side as the Mackems more than held their own against an in-form, higher-ranked opposition.

As we know, Roberts’ - now 25 - City career was short-lived during that failed 2019/20 Premier League tilt, making just three appearances in defeats against Burnley, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa before finishing the season at Middlesbrough in their similarly unsuccessful Championship campaign. 

But fast forward three years and the former Manchester City prodigy looks a player reborn, with that initial rawness and naivety replaced by a new-found maturity in the final third. 

That three-year window also included a brief loan stint at French side Troyes - and after City recently recalled Christos Tzolis from an equally underwhelming spell on European shores, could there be parallels as David Wagner’s side look to launch a revamped assault on promotion?

Like Roberts, Tzolis failed to fire in his first few Carrow Road appearances, scoring twice in a 6-0 Carabao Cup romp over Bournemouth but looking woefully out of his depth when featuring at top-flight level. 

Factor in those petulant cup antics against Liverpool - when he snatched the ball from Adam Idah’s hands before proceeding to miss the subsequent penalty - and it’s no surprise Tzolis’ early City career was brought to a premature conclusion with a season-long loan at FC Twente. 

Tzolis, 21, was a marginally less peripheral figure on the continent than Roberts - netting three times in 14 games for the Dutch club - but the reality remains they were happy to let him go when Wagner, clearly a fan, came calling.

That catapulted him back into Wagner's Championship charges and, alongside the arrival of Arsenal loanee Marquinhos, a sudden wave of late transfer window optimism spread among the City community.

Tzolis’ return naturally feels like something of a new signing, a player Farke once described as one of the most exciting offensive talents in Europe and one who did show occasional glimpses of promise in his first 14 matches in yellow and green.

But the truth remains that Tzolis did nothing to suggest he can scale heights anywhere near comparable to Onel Hernandez and Kieran Dowell’s red-hot recent form, particularly after those thrilling four-goal triumphs at Preston and Coventry.

What Tzolis does offer Wagner is an additional option out wide, an area his side – bar Hernandez and Dowell – did appear to be lacking in prior to the Greek and Samba stars’ hotly-anticipated arrivals.

But the Tzolis who returns to Norfolk must be a significantly more consistent, combative and clinical operator than the one who was demoted to the club’s development squad midway through last season.

And let’s not forget – there is also pressure on Stuart Webber that this transfer eventually works out given the near-club record fee of £8.8million splashed out on the former PAOK wide man back in the summer of 2021.

Given City’s new-found creativity under Wagner showcased so visibly at Deepdale and the CBS Arena, it’s unlikely Tzolis will play a prominent role in Saturday lunchtime’s crunch clash against table-topping Burnley. But with a congested fixture schedule on the horizon, it is vital he gets rapidly up to speed if he is to play any meaningful role in City’s promotion push.

His first foray into English football may have fallen flat but, like Roberts, Tzolis can still emerge as a key play-off chasing protagonist heading into the business end of the Championship season.