Derby County have agreed a deal to sign Bobby Clark permanently for £6 million, it is being reported.
It comes after the reported Celtic target was named the club’s Young Player of the Year for his performances on loan at Pride Park from Red Bull Salzburg.
Celtic were one of a dozen clubs with a reported interest in Clark, with Salzburg reportedly happy to let go of the midfielder for a cut price.
Despite interest from bigger Championship clubs as well as the Hoops, Derby now look to have won the race.
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Bobby Clark set for Derby medical with agreement close
According to John Percy of The Telegraph, Clark is now set for a Derby medical with the Rams close to an agreement over a £6 million deal.
It makes him their most expensive signing in six years.
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He isn’t the only Championship loanee midfielder to have been linked with the Hoops in recent months; the exact same sequence of events has already transpired for Alfie Devine at Preston.
The midfielder was brought to Austria for £10 million two years ago, reuniting with Pep Lijnders, with whom he had worked at Liverpool.
Lijnders was sacked after just months in Austria, and Clark’s game time decreased, with the minutes he did get often being out of position. He was then sent out on loan for this season.
Out of the blue, reports last October claimed that Celtic had agreed a £6 million deal to sign Clark, but this turned out to be false. It now appears that he is available at a much lower price.
He is the son of ex-Newcastle midfielder and Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark, playing in the academy at St James’ Park before being plucked by Liverpool.
As a teenager at Anfield, he was handed 14 senior appearances by Jurgen Klopp, scoring in a European win over Sparta Prague in 2024.
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Midfielders expected to leave Celtic this summer
After serious interest in January, Arne Engels is now expected to leave Celtic, with a host of European clubs chasing the 22-year-old.
Reo Hatate was left out of the matchday squad for the final two games of the season, with the writing seemingly on the wall regarding his future. Paulo Bernardo is also completely out of favour.
A stellar debut season by Benjamin Nygren is also generating interest, and a rapid exit hasn’t been ruled out for the Hoops’ top scorer.
Even captain Callum McGregor hasn’t ruled out an exit, whilst Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contract is now up.
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