Liverpool youngster Leighton Clarkson will not be leaving the Premier League giants for Reading in the January transfer window, Royals manager Paul Ince telling Berkshire Live that the Championship outfit won’t be making any winter signings as things stand.
In an ideal world, Ince would be dipping into his pocket this month, bringing in a couple of exciting additions capable of closing the three point gap between Reading and the play-off places.
As things stand, however, the manager’s hands remain tied firmly behind his back. Championship clubs are restricted to naming squads of 25 players, and Reading have already hit that number. As such, Clarkson won’t be going anywhere near the Madejski Stadium unless Ince can create some wriggle room by first pushing someone out the door.
Leighton Clarkson won’t be leaving Liverpool for Reading
“We can’t bring anyone in,” the former Liverpool, Inter Milan and Manchester United midfielder says. “You’re always going to get (speculation). I’m not sure sometimes if people understand what an embargo is, and where we are as a club.
“We have got 25 players. That is our quota. The only way we can change that is if we get players out. No one is going out at the moment, so no one is coming in. If we can free up a couple of spots, then great. If not, then we go with what we’ve got.
“It’s tough because you’re thinking a new player might make us a better team or make us stronger, but you have your hands tied behind your back. It kills you as a manager because you know this player could make us better.”
England U20 international Clarkson is currently thriving north of the border at Aberdeen. The stylish central midfielder has five goals in 19 games for the Dons, one of those a glorious long-range strike during a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Rangers in December.
“Clarkson is so cool and calm,” Dons legend Willie Miller told the BBC. “He doesn’t care a jot that an international goalkeeper is in the goal. A truly magnificent strike.”
According to Alan Nixon, former Liverpool youth coach Neil Critchley is hoping to use his Anfield connections to lure Clarkson to Queens Park Rangers during the final few weeks of the January transfer window.
But, as Aberdeen counterpart Jim Goodwin points out, Liverpool currently have no plans to cut Clarkson’s Pittodrie spell short, insisting that Jurgen Klopp’s side are ‘delighted’ with the youngster’s progress in Scotland (The Scotsman).
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