Celtic line up £6m January transfer swoop for former Liverpool prospect who made Premier League debut at 17
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is currently on loan at EFL Championship side Derby County
Celtic are reportedly lining up a £6million January move for ex-Liverpool youngster Bobby Clark.
The Hoops have retained an interest in the former Anfield starlet for several months and The Times claim that a deal will go through when the transfer window reopens at the turn of the year, potentially before Celtic's first game of the new year against derby rivals Rangers.
The 20-year-old, who is currently on loan at Derby County from Austrian Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Salzburg, is understood to be ready to join Brendan Rodgers' side in a permanent switch.
Clark is the son of former Kilmarnock boss Lee Clarke. The attacking midfielder burst on to the scene on Merseyside as a teenager and became the club’s youngest ever scorer in European competition when he found the net against Sparta Prague in the 2023/24 season.
Clark his Premier League debut against Bournemouth aged 17 and even gained cup final experience during his time with the Reds, having been used as a substitute by former boss Jurgen Klopp during their Carabao Cup triumph over Chelsea later that season.
The England youth international was snapped up by RB Salzburg for £10m in the summer of 2024 , where he was reunited with Klopp’s former Liverpool assistant, Pepijn Lijnders.
Clark signed a five-year contract with the Austrian giants, making 25 senior appearances in his debut campaign. He returned to British football in the summer after completing a season-long loan move to the EFL Championship side, where he has established himself as a regular starter.
And it now appears increasingly likely that Clark will will return to the UK on a permanent basis and head north of the border this winter, with strong claims he'll join the Scottish champions.
Derby County boss directly addresses Bobby Clark to Celtic transfer rumour
Rams boss John Eustace admits he’s been left in the dark over the rumours linking Clark with Celtic. The perplexed manager made it clear he doesn’t want to lose the playmaker halfway through the season.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Eustace said: “It’s the first I’ve heard of it, so that’s interesting. But we certainly don’t want to lose him. We brough Bobby in to develop him, to give him a platform to perform, and he’s certainly done that up to now.
“There’s more to come from him. I think we’re developing him in the right way, but this is the culture and environment we’ve set here at Derby. The players who come here are going to be developed properly, and it’s great that big clubs like Celtic are looking at him.
“We certainly don’t want him to go anywhere. January’s a long way away. I’m not worries about that - let’s just keep giving him important minutes. Let’s see how his performance are from now until then. I know they’ve been improving.
“His numbers are getting better, he’s getting fitter, and we’ll worry about that in January. All I can concentrate on is working with Bobby alongside the staff we have here.
“We’ve got great people to help develop all the players, and this is the kind of environment we want - one where every player sees a pathway to playing in Europe and moving on to bigger clubs.
“The most important thing is that Bobby’s our player until then, at least, and we’ll keep working with him to make sure he keeps performing for us.”