In October 1922, Manchester City paid £3,400 for him (a huge sum at the time). He scored his first goal for City in a 2–0 victory over his former team Bolton Wanderers. He scored 10 goals in his first season with the team and was City's third highest goalscorer behind Horace Barnes who scored 21 and Tommy Johnson who scored 15. In the 1923–24 season Roberts scored 14 league goals and 4 goals in the FA Cup including a brace against Halifax Town in a second-round replay. City reached the semi final of that year's competition but were defeated 2–0 by Newcastle United. In the 1924–25 season he scored 31 league goals, making him the First Division's top scorer. Roberts' goalscoring exploits earned him a call up to the England team. Roberts made his début for England in a 4–0 victory over Belgium in December 1924 with braces from Joe Bradford and Billy Walker securing England victory. Roberts earned four caps in total for his national team.