Aberdeen should jump at the chance to sign Leighton Clarkson from Liverpool on a permanent basis if the Premier League giants are willing to let him go.
At least, so says Alex Smith; the former Dons boss impressed by the midfielder’s performances during an outstanding loan spell at Pittodrie in 2022/23.
21-year-old Leighton Clarkson was a big hit in Aberdeen colours. He arrived with a reputation as a stylish, technically-skilled playmaker but added plenty of strings to his bow during his first season of regular first-team football, a tally of six goals and nine assists highlighting Clarkson’s new-found creative streak.
And Smith, who spent four years in the Dons dugout from 1988 to 1992, is not given up hope of seeing the England U20 international return to Scotland’s North East, even if Liverpool’s asking price may put the club’s Young Player of the Year beyond Aberdeen’s reach.
Does Leighton Clarkson have a future at Liverpool?
“If the club could sign him, it would be a real signal of intent. He is just 21, and has a lot of potential,” Smith tells the Press and Journal.
“He can only get better after playing a full season of competitive football in the Premiership. I really like what I’ve seen of Clarkson. He’s not the biggest lad, but he’s a real competitor and he has picked up some very good talents after coming through Liverpool’s academy set-up.”
Clarkson has ‘totally transformed himself’ during an outstanding spell north of the border. A player who struggled to last beyond the 60 minute mark at the start of the season barely missing a second during the final few months.
Whether he has a future at parent club Liverpool, meanwhile, may depend on how Jurgen Klopp’s long-awaited midfield overhaul progresses over the coming months. The departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner and Arthur Melo potentially open the door for first-team opportunities, although Alexis Mac Allister is one of a number of new signings likely to be on their way before September 1st.
“Leighton is one of the biggest talents in our club,” Klopp said back in 2021; likening Clarkson to a young Philipp Lahm. “He’s a midfielder, a number six type, can play eight as well.
“He’s a very talented, good football-playing boy. In Germany, there’s a famous player who played similar to him. I don’t want to put pressure on the boy but he reminds me a lot of him (Lahm).
“He’s just a good footballer, a smart footballer, fast, physically strong. If you see his legs, they are not like 19-year-old boy legs, they are already grown.”
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