Connor Roberts (footballer, born 1995)

For the Welsh goalkeeper, see Connor Roberts (footballer, born 1992).

Connor Roberts

Roberts playing for Wales at the UEFA Euro 2020
Personal information
Full name	Connor Richard John Roberts [1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-23) 23 September 1995 (age 28)
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)

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.

Club career

Early career

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]}

Loan moves

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.

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]

Burnley

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]

International career

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]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 March 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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 [lower-alpha 1]	0	42	1
	2020–21 [37]	Championship	46	5	2	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	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 [lower-alpha 2]	0	54	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2016–17 [33]	League One	2	0	2	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	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

1. Appearances in Championship play-offs
2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 26 March 2024 ^[41]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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

As of match played 13 November 2021. Wales' score listed first, score column indicates score after each Roberts goal. ^[41]

List of international goals scored by Connor Roberts

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

Honours

Swansea City U23

• Premier League Cup: 2016–17 ^[42]

Burnley

• EFL Championship: 2022–23 ^[43]

Individual

• EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2022–23 ^[44]

• PFA Team of the Year: 2022–23 Championship ^[45]

• Swansea City Player of the Year: 2020–21 ^[18]

References

1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Wales (WAL)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 32. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
2. "Connor Roberts: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
3. Fisher, Ben (16 December 2020). "Swansea's Connor Roberts: 'I can be in the workshop for hours on end'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
4. "Roberts joins Yeovil on loan". Swansea City A.F.C. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Connor pens new Swans deal". Swansea City A.F.C. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. "Swansea City Under 23s win the league". Wales Online. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
7. "It's a perfect end to the season, says King". Premier League. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
8. "Connor Roberts signs on loan". Yeovil Town F.C. 8 August 2015. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
9. "Exeter City 3–2 Yeovil Town". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
10. "Swansea defender Connor Roberts staying at Yeovil Town until end of season". Sky Sports. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
11. "Roberts and Krysiak win end of season awards". Yeovil Town F.C. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
12. "Connor Roberts: Bristol Rovers sign Swansea City defender on loan". BBC Sport. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
13. "Northampton Town 2–3 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
14. "Connor Roberts has returned to parent club Swansea City". Bristol Rovers F.C. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
15. "Connor Roberts: Swansea City loan full-back to Middlesbrough for 2017–18 season". BBC Sport. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
16. Henry, Matthew (6 January 2018). "Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
17. Pritchard, Dafydd (29 August 2018). "Swansea City 3–0 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
18. "CONNOR ROBERTS NAMED SWANSEA CITY SUPPORTERS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Swansea City A.F.C. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
19. "Connor Roberts: Burnley sign Wales defender from Swansea". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
20. "CONNOR CLOCKS ON". Burnley F.C. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
21. EFL Team of the Season
22. "Connor Roberts: Leeds United sign Burnley defender on loan until end of season". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
23. "Leeds United 3-1 Leicester City: Whites produce stunning fightback to close gap on leaders". BBC Sport. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
24. "Men U.19 v Montenegro – Game 2 Drawn". Football Association of Wales. 24 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
25. "Connor Roberts selected for Wales under-21 squad". Yeovil Town F.C. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
26. "Aaron Ramsey to miss China Cup as Ryan Giggs names first Wales squad". BBC Sport. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
27. "'MY PROUDEST MOMENT'". Swansea City A.F.C. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
28. "Uncapped Colwill in Wales Euro 2020 squad". BBC Sport. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
29. Pritchard, Dafydd (16 June 2021). "Turkey 0–2 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
30. Pritchard, Dafydd (26 June 2021). "Wales 0–4 Denmark". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
31. 2022 Wales World Cup squad
32. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
33. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
34. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
35. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
36. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
37. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
38. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
39. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
40. "Games played by Connor Roberts in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
41. "Roberts, Connor". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
42. "It's a perfect end to the season, says King". www.premierleague.com. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
43. Long, Dan (25 April 2023). "Blackburn Rovers 0–1 Burnley: Vincent Kompany's Clarets clinch Championship title after Manuel Benson stunner". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
44. "EFL Team of the Season line-ups revealed". English Football League. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
45. "Erling Haaland: Manchester City forward wins PFA men's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.

External links

• Connor Roberts at Soccerbase
• Connor Roberts – UEFA competition record ( archive )