Sources: Bristol City agree to sign Brighton star Roberts

Bristol City have agreed a deal to sign Brighton defender Haydon Roberts on a free transfer, sources have told Football Insider.

Roberts, 21, is out of contract at Brighton later this month and he will be leaving the Premier League club as a free agent.

Bristol City have moved quickly to beat off interest from a number of clubs to land Roberts.

The defender spent last season on loan at Derby County and made 46 appearances during his time with the Rams.

Roberts can play centre-back but largely played as a left wing-back during his time at Pride Park which demonstrated his versatility

Football Insider exclusively revealed (6 June ) that Bristol City had opened talks to sign the youngster, with the deal having now accelerated to an agreement.

The 21-year-old joined the Seagulls’ Under-18s side in 2017 before graduating to the senior set up in 2021 and the following year he was sent on loan to Derby.

The youngster’s Derby coach Paul Warne was massively impressed by the defender during his spell at Pride Park.

As quoted by DerbyshireLive (11 April), Warne said Roberts is “excellent” and was “a real standout performer” during his time at Derby.

Roberts had made six appearances for the first team at Brighton and scored one goal across those outings, all of which came in League Cup outings.

The defender has also represented England at youth level, most recently for the under-18s team where he made five appearances in the sides’ international friendlies.

In other news, Bristol City have opened talks to sign Championship star.