Liverpool shut down Jurgen Klopp disciple’s pursuit of young star
Liverpool have reportedly rebuffed an offer from RB Salzburg for promising young midfielder Bobby Clark.
Salzburg’s new boss Pep Lijnders is familiar with Clark from his time as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant and he has set out to bring about a reunion.
The Austrian Club are reputed to have tabled a £6m bid for the 19-year-old but Liverpool have rejected the approach out of hand.
Clark is believed to be headed away from Anfield in some capacity this season after he missed out on the preseason squad.
Since March, Clark has been sidelined with injury and he did not make the trip to the United States. In 2022–2023 he made two appearances for the first team, while in the previous season he started four out of a total of twelve games played. Though he also scored and provided an assist in a Europa League game against Sparta Prague, the Carabao Cup final versus Chelsea was unquestionably the highlight of his season.
Lijnders’ Salzburg have been linked with several players at the Anfield club who have uncertain futures including Clark and Tyler Morton.
Given that Clark’s contract with Liverpool expires in 2028, it seems improbable that he will be departing anytime soon on anything other than a loan deal. Given that Slot is renowned for drawing in young players, it only makes sense to suppose Clark will have more chances to play in the 2024/25 campaign.
However, Salzburg are said to be preparing another bid for the player with rumours suggesting they might be prepared to break their club record to sign the young Englishman.
Despite their obvious connections to Anfield, Salzburg will have competition from Norwich City, Rangers, and Leeds United, all of whom seem to be interested in Clark.
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Having sold Luka Sucic to Real Sociedad this week, Salzburg does have a good motive to pursue Clark now.
Perhaps that’s where he ends up, but it would undoubtedly be through a loan arrangement. Liverpool might be quite interested in loaning Clark there to play under a coach he knows well and maybe return with greater value to the club.
Given that his rehab hasn’t progressed far enough for him to show Slot what he can do, a decision on Clark could be deferred until the coach gets a better look at the prospect who was popular with Klopp.