Liverpool has reportedly made the call to allow Bobby Clark to leave the club on a permanent basis. Having reached that decision, the Reds reportedly offered Newcastle United the chance to re-sign the youngster .
According to the Chronicle , Liverpool has green-lit an exit for Clark, who wants regular first-team experience. Leading the chase currently is Red Bull Salzburg, where Pep Lijnders is now the coach, assisted by Jurgen Klopp's former elite development coach Vitor Matos .
At Anfield , Matos' role was to provide a bridge between the Academy and the first team. He and Lijnders have both worked closely with Clark, and are pushing hard to take him with them to Austria.
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According to The Times , a fee of $13m (£10m/€12m) is being discussed with Red Bull Salzburg — it has seen two bids rejected already, and Liverpool is currently weighing up a third that gets close to the asking price. That would represent excellent business from the Reds, who acquired him from Newcastle in 2021 for just $1.9m (£1.5m/€1.75m), with no sell-on clause included.
It would have required Newcastle eating a major slice of humble pie, then, if it had taken up the opportunity to re-sign Clark for close to 10 times what it banked for him three years ago. Nonetheless, Eddie Howe is said to be a fan, and intends to continue tracking the teenager's progress.
On this occasion, though, Newcastle will not be getting involved in the bidding. It is "overloaded" with central midfielders, and intends to focus recruitment on right-wingers and center-backs.
Nevertheless, it's interesting that Liverpool has apparently been taking an active approach to touting Clark's services. It signals a potential change in methods under the new-look backroom team.
Of course, if Clark has made it clear that he wants regular starts, that might be all there is to it. But Michael Edwards , who is now back at FSG in charge of all footballing operations, was renowned for lucrative sales of youth players during his time as sporting director.
At the floated sum, Clark could net Liverpool close to half of what it earned from the infamous Rhian Brewster sale. The former Academy striker is still yet to make any meaningful impact at Sheffield United four years after signing.
Fabio Carvalho also looks set to be moved on to Brentford for an even healthier fee, while Sepp van den Berg may yet depart before the end of the transfer window. Purely from peripheral sales, it's shaping up to be a lucrative window for Liverpool.
Liverpool.com says: There were high hopes for Clark during the Klopp era, which would make this the most surprising of the mooted summer sales to date. It's not like Carvlaho or Van den Berg, neither of whom were in favor under the previous regime.
Still, there's no arguing with the apparent fees being discussed, which would be astronomical for a club in the Austrian Bundesliga. It's a big price tag for a player who has only gained pockets of senior experience since joining Liverpool.
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