No club other than Manchester United could test Patrick Roberts like Celtic will, claims Peter Grant

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The Manchester City blueprint for the development of young players tends to be chiselled in tablets of stone.

Rather than sitting and stagnating in the splendour of the Etihad Campus, the pathway to the first team is plotted by taking a circuitous route through a number of unfamiliar environments.

When Jason Denayer returned to the Sky Blues two years ago after an impressive season with Celtic, he was immediately redirected to Istanbul to play for Galatasaray.

Former Celtic player Peter Grant believes Patrick Roberts made the correct decision to re-sign

Last year, in the final leg of his apprenticeship, he had the dubious honour of pulling on the shirt of Championship-bound Sunderland.

The Belgian's career path is not dissimilar to others his age. Variety may be the spice of life, but, for those in charge at City, it remains the cornerstone of their policy on rearing the stars of tomorrow. All of which is pretty much the reason behind the impasse that existed between the club and Patrick Roberts over the last three months.

Offering up Southampton, Nice or Girona as possible destinations for the 20-year-old, City, for long enough, refused to sanction another season in Glasgow on the grounds that Roberts would learn more in fresh surroundings. The winger, for his part, remained intransigent. While the south coast of England, France or a little slice of Catalonia held obvious appeal, the England Under-20 cap felt his career would be better served by returning to Glasgow.

It has been an open secret for the past week that the player's argument had won the day.

The 20-year-old completed his loan move to Celtic from Manchester City on Monday

But if some City officials are perhaps still smarting at this intriguing example of player power, one man who Roberts knows well feels the player's decision has been made with his head as opposed to his heart. Former Celtic player Peter Grant was serving as Fulham's No2 when Roberts made his debut against City in 2014. And having sampled all the English game has to offer as a coach over the past 20 years, the 51-year-old is convinced another year in the pressure-cooker environment of Celtic Park will ready Roberts to become a City first-team player in a way no alternative could come close to.

'In all my time in England, there's only one club that has a similar type of pressure when you pull on that jersey. And that's Manchester United,' Grant told Sportsmail.

'I really feel that. I worked in the Premier League for six or seven years and that was the only place I felt was similar to Celtic in terms of the expectations.

'Most of the rest, if you lose or draw away from home, it wasn't seen as a disaster.

'At Manchester United and Celtic, that's not the case.

'I saw an awful lot of top quality players arrive at Celtic and Rangers in my time, but they struggled. That was even though they were big-time players with big personalities.

'Often, they couldn't handle playing for the Old Firm.'

Grant added: 'I'd often wondered why so many hadn't played so well in Glasgow, but it was down to the pressure and constant scrutiny.

Roberts has spent the last 18 months at Celtic Park and won the Scottish treble last season

'For those reasons, it's a fantastic choice for Pat. I'm not surprised he's grabbed it with both hands. I don't think any of his other options would have given him that platform.'

Rarely were the heightened expectations of pulling on a Celtic jersey better illustrated than in the weekend draw with St Johnstone. Despite being undefeated domestically since May 11, 2016, Celtic's determination to play out from the back was met with audible groans of dissatisfaction from some.

As ludicrous as that may seem, to Grant, the demand to not just win but win with style is nothing new. It's a pressure he lived with on a daily basis for 15 years.

'Most teams in England are expected to get the odd result, but rarely win away from home,' he explained. 'If you win away in the Premier League when you are not one of the top teams, it's a shock.

'At Celtic, there's a different type of pressure altogether. You have to win home and away every week. You have to play well home and away every week.

Grant, who spent 15 years at Celtic, compared the pressures of playing for them to pulling on a Manchester United jersey and he believes that makes it a fantastic choice from Roberts

'You need to get into Europe and no matter who you are drawn against, you are expected to do well. The fans are disappointed if you don't. Brendan (Rodgers) touched upon that at the weekend after the team hadn't played particularly well against St Johnstone.

'In those circumstances, it's a difficult environment to play in. That adds to the expectation. It's not just about winning. You also have to perform to an extremely high level.'

The minute Grant set eyes on Roberts' diminutive frame at Craven Cottage, he felt it was only a matter of time before he would be flying the nest.

Just 15 months after being blooded in that 5-0 trouncing by City, the Manchester club put £12m on the table to take ownership of one of England's most prodigious talents.

Grant is pleased with Roberts development and believes he will only improve by being at Celtic

After six months trying to make his presence felt at his parent club, Roberts agreed an 18-month loan deal to Celtic.

By popular demand, and at the player's behest, that will now be elongated by a season.

For Grant, as pleasing as the development of the player over the past three years has been, the real beauty of the new deal is that there remains room for improvement.

'He's got wonderful individual talent,' Grant continued.

'He's the kind of wide player that Celtic fans have always liked — he can take people, excite them and get them off their seats. The Celtic fans just love that.

'People often forget how young he is, but he can open doors at the highest level.'