There’s still no sign of impending arrivals at Liverpool, but another player looks set to pass through the Anfield exit door.
On Wednesday evening, DaveOCKOP revealed that Red Bull Salzburg have agreed a deal to sign Bobby Clark on a permanent transfer for €11.65m (£10m), with personal terms now to be discussed and expected to be a formality.
Pep Lijnders’ side had previously seen two offers for the 19-year-old fall short, but a third bid proved successful as LFC negotiated a sell-on clause as part of the deal, as well as having first refusal should the Austrian outfit choose to part with him further down the line.
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Fabrizio Romano later shared the news via his X profile, posting: “Bobby Clark leaves Liverpool to join Pep Lijnders at RB Salzburg, here we go!
“Fee £10m and 17.5% sell-on clause as package, as @daveockop, @_pauljoyce report and club sources confirm. Liverpool will also have right of first refusal.”
🔴⚪️ Bobby Clark leaves Liverpool to join Pep Lijnders at RB Salzburg, here we go!
Fee £10m and 17.5% sell-on clause as package, as @daveockop @_pauljoyce report and club sources confirm.
Liverpool will also have right of first refusal. pic.twitter.com/epOYG1ZdP8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 14, 2024
Clark is among a clutch of Liverpool youngsters who’ve shown tremendous promise over the past few months, but ultimately Salzburg’s persistence paid off, and at least the Reds have managed to negotiate a deal with favourable terms.
Obtaining first refusal guarantees us an opportunity to give the midfielder a second chance at Anfield if he proves to be a roaring success in Austria; and if we decide to waive that right, the sell-on clause offers a top-up to our bank balance for his next permanent transfer.
LFC have recently banked just over £9m from Dominic Solanke’s move to Tottenham, having negotiated a cut of Bournemouth’s selling price in the deal which saw him join the Cherries in 2019, so at least the club’s hierarchy ensure that we benefit to some degree when agreeing to sales such as this one.
It’s a pity that, for now at least, Clark won’t have the chance to build upon the early promise he’s shown at Liverpool, but we can take solace in the fact that he’ll be in good hands at Salzburg under Lijnders, who of course he knows well from the Dutchman’s time as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant for the Reds.
We wish the teenager every success with his new club – indeed, our paths could cross again in the near future should the Austrian side progress past the Champions League play-off round and be drawn against us in the expanded league phase!
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