Derby County manager John Eustace has given his verdict on Bobby Clark’s £6m move to Celtic in January.
Clark is currently on loan at the struggling EFL Championship club having signed from Austrian Bundesliga side RB Salzburg in the summer.
The Times have reported that the ex-Liverpool midfielder is set for a switch to the Hoops this winter as Brendan Rodgers gets to work on recruitment already.
Clark has featured 10 times for Derby this season and Eustace is a fan of the player, which is why he has declared he doesn’t want to lose him to Celtic.
John Eustace says it’s ‘great’ Celtic have pursued Clark
Eustace was speaking to the press on Thursday ahead of Derby’s game against Oxford United on Saturday and claimed he had no prior knowledge of the £6m deal.
But the 45-year-old did admit that it’s ‘great’ to hear a club the size of Celtic are looking at players currently turning out for Derby.
Eustace said: “It’s the first I’ve heard of it (Clark to Celtic), so that’s interesting. But we certainly don’t want to lose him.
“We brought Bobby in to help develop him, to give him a platform to perform, and he’s certainly done that up to now. There’s a lot more to come from him.
“I think we’re developing him in the right way, but this is the culture and the environment that we set here at Derby.
“The players that have come are going to be developed properly and it’s great that big clubs like Celtic can look at him. We certainly don’t want him to go anywhere.”
Liverpool are due slice of Clark transfer fee
Celtic will pay RB Salzburg £6m for Clark, but the Austrians will not receive the full payment.
According to BBC Sport, Liverpool will take 17.5% because of the sell-on clause they agreed with Salzburg when they sold him for £10m in August.
That means £1.05m is heading into Liverpool’s bank account thanks to Celtic.
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