Celtic 'set' to complete signing of starlet compared to 34 cap England man with seven figure fee mooted

Celtic are closing in on the signing of highly-rated playmaker Bobby Clark from Red Bull Salzburg for a seven-figure fee, according to reports in England.

The 20-year-old England youth international is currently on loan in the EFL Championship with Derby County, but is ready to cut short his stint at Pride Park in order to complete a permanent deal with the Scottish champions as per an exclusive report from The Times.

According to the report, Clark will link up with Celtic when the January transfer window opens, with the club paying a fee of £6million for his services, with a derby clash against Rangers on January 3 at Celtic Park viewed as potentially his first game for the club.

Clark has been on loan to Derby County this season, where he has played 10 times. | Getty Images

Son of former Newcastle United and Sunderland midfielder Lee Clark, the talented playmaker was bought by Austrian Bundesliga giants Salzburg for a fee of £10million last year, but started just eight times, and subsequently signed a season-long loan deal with John Eustace’s side in the summer, where he has played regularly in the English second tier.

Compared to former England and Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana, due to his quick feet and technical ability, Clark joined Newcastle United’s academy set up back in 2014, but left to join Liverpool in 2021 after the Anfield giants agreed to pay a fee of £1.5million for the 16-year-old. He signed his first professional deal a year later, making his senior debut in a 9-0 league win over Bournemouth.

In March of that season, Clark would score his first senior goal in a 6–1 Europa League win over Sparta Prague during the round of 16, becoming the club’s second youngest player to score in a European competition behind Trent Alexander-Arnold. After making a positive impression on Merseyside, his former Liverpool assistant Pepijn Lijnders moved to sign him for Red Bull Salzburg last summer, where he went on to score two goals last season in the Austrian top flight.

Lijnders - now assistant manager at Manchester City - was sacked just six months after Clark’s arrival at the Red Bull Arena, which resulted in the youngster opting to return to England in the summer with Derby. Despite featuring regularly for The Rams this term, the 20-year-old wants to make a permanent move to Scotland in January, as per The Times, and is set to link up with Brendan Rodgers’ side when the transfer window opens.

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