OTHER CLUBS WERE IN FOR ME, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO HARD TO LEAVE
CONNOR ROBERTS OPENS UP ON HIS NEW DEAL AT SWANS:
CONNOR Roberts has admitted he received interest from other clubs before committing his future to Swansea City.
The 23-year-old Wales international has put pen to paper on a deal that is set to keep him at the Liberty Stadium until the summer of 2022 .
The contract extension ends weeks of speculation over the defender’s future, as he was linked with the likes of Bournemouth, Southampton and Celtic.
Crynant product Roberts acknowledged he and his representatives had been made aware of interest from other clubs in acquiring his services, with the full-back’s previous deal set to run out at the end of the current season.
But talks with Swans boss Graham Potter and Wales manager Ryan Giggs helped him to decide that staying with his hometown club was the right move.
“I am not going to lie, there was interest from other teams,” said Roberts, who joined the Swans academy at the age of nine.
“I had to talk to people who knew a bit about the game... there is always interest if someone does fairly well.
“But at the moment I need to get as many games in the legs as I can, I need to perform consistently.
“There is an emotional pull here. It would be hard to leave, the fans like me and I like them and all my family support Swansea. But luckily that (leaving Swansea) is not happening.
“My goal is to play in the Premier League again and I want it to be with Swansea.”
He added: “I asked Ryan (Giggs) and got his input. He wants his players playing as much as they can.
“There were some rumours and whatnot.
“I spoke with the chairman, manager and my representatives and I think we all agreed I had to do what was right by me. There was some pondering, I spoke with Ryan Giggs to see what he thought.
“At the end it has come down to me wanting to keep playing football and improving as a player. I spoke with Graham too and I think Swansea is the team to do that with.”
Roberts has appeared in all 17 of Swansea’s Championship fixtures this term, and has become a Wales regular under Giggs.
The importance of continuing to get regular football under his belt, having made his breakthrough in January of this year, was key in his deliberations over his future.
And he pointed to the number of Swansea players who have left SA1 to find the grass has not always been greener as an example of the perils of trying to make a move too soon.
“I’ve seen a lot of Swans fans saying it’s almost a little bit of a Swansea curse.
“A lot of players have left and not gone on to do very much while a couple have even come back,” added Roberts.
“There’s only been a handful of people who have done well like Joe Allen and Ben Davies who can say they bettered their career or done a little bit better than they would have if they had stayed here.
“Never say never. I might have to go to prolong my career or to get better opportunities.
“Nobody knows but at the moment I’m playing week in week out, improving and learning off Graham Potter and off Ryan Giggs when I play for Wales.”