Bobby Clark (footballer, born 2005)

Bobby Lamont Clark (born 7 February 2005) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool.

Bobby Clark
Personal information
Full name Bobby Lamont Clark[1]
Date of birth (2005-02-07) 7 February 2005
Place of birth Epsom, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 42
Youth career
2012–2014 Birmingham City
2014–2021 Newcastle United
2021– Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Liverpool 1 (0)
International career‡
2019–2020 England U15 2 (0)
2021 England U16 1 (0)
2022– England U18 6 (1)
2023– England U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:19, 27 August 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:20, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Clark trained with the academy at Birmingham City when his father, Lee Clark, was the manager there. The family moved back to the north east of England in 2014. After visiting all the clubs in the area Clark chose to join the academy at Newcastle United.[3]

Career

Clark moved to the academy of Liverpool from Newcastle United in August 2021.[4] The fee was thought to be for a total including add-ons of £1.5 million.[5] He agreed a professional contract with the club shortly after his seventeenth birthday in February 2022.[6] The contract was for five years and came with a personal guarantee from Liverpool first team manager Jurgen Klopp that there would be a pathway to the first team available to him.[7]

Featuring for the Liverpool under-18 side in the 2021-22 season Clark scored 13 goals in 23 matches. He also made his debut for the Liverpool side that competes in the Premier League 2.[8] In the summer of 2022, Clark went with the Liverpool first team squad on their trip to Asia for matches in Thailand and Singapore.[9] Clark has featured as part of BBC Sport website Wonderkids feature,[10] and was identified in August 2022 as one of “Five young English footballers to watch out for” on their website.[11]

Clark was an unused substitute for Liverpool's first home game of the 2022-23 Premier League season, against Crystal Palace F.C. at Anfield. On 27 August, 2022 Clark made his professional debut appearing as a substitute for Liverpool against AFC Bournemouth in a 9-0 home victory at Anfield.[12]

On 9 November 2022, he started his first game for Liverpool in the win against Derby County in the third round of the EFL Cup at Anfield. [13]

On 30 July 2023, Clark scored his first senior goal for Liverpool in a pre-season friendly against Leicester City, with his side winning the match 4–0 at the Singapore National Stadium.[14]

International career

Clark made his debut for England national under-16 football team against Wales U16 in April 2021.[15]

On 21 September 2022, Clark made his England U18 debut during a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in Pinatar.[16]

On 6 September 2023, Clark made his England U19 debut during a 1-0 defeat to Germany in Oliva.[17]

Career statistics
As of match played 9 November 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2022–23 Premier League 100010000020
Career total 100010000020

References
  1. "2023/24 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  2. "Bobby Clark". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  3. "Bobby Clark: The Liverpool u18s recruit who scored on his debut and has been in demand since the age of nine". The Athletic.
  4. "Liverpool set to sign Newcastle teenager Bobby Clark". Goal.com.
  5. "LIVERPOOL USED £1.5M SALE TO SIGN BOBBY CLARK; KLOPP 'BIG ADMIRER' ALREADY". hitc.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  6. "Bobby Clark". Liverpoolfc.com.
  7. "Jurgen Klopp has big plans for ex-Newcastle United kid Bobby Clark and hands him five-year contract". Chroniclelive.co.uk. 2 March 2022.
  8. "Liverpool new signings and promotions set to be unleashed as Bobby Clark takes next step". Liverpoolecho.co.uk. 13 August 2022.
  9. "Former Newcastle United youngster Bobby Clark wins Liverpool first-team call-up". Chroniclelive.co.uk. 7 July 2022.
  10. "Newcastle academy star Clark hits top bins in Wonderkids". BBC Sport.
  11. "Five young English footballers to watch out for". BBC Sport.
  12. "B.Clark". Soccerway.com.
  13. "Kelleher's shootout saves see Liverpool scrape past Derby in Carabao Cup". Guardian. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  14. "'It's a great feeling' – Bobby Clark and Ben Doak react to first senior goals - Liverpool FC". www.liverpoolfc.com. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  15. "ENGLAND U16 VS. WALES U16 2-3". Soccerway.
  16. Veevers, Nicholas (21 September 2022). "Late winner seals victory for MU18s over Netherlands". England Football. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  17. "Report: England MU19s 0-1 Germany". England Football. 6 September 2023.
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