In football, who you know can matter just as much as what you know. And that certainly rings true when talking about the £10 million deal which took one of Liverpool’s most promising talents away from Anfield.
Despite a making 12 first-team appearances under Jurgen Klopp last season – and scoring a first senior goal against Sparta Prague in the Europa League – Liverpool accepted a £10 million bid from Red Bull Salzburg for Bobby Clark this month.
A deal which sees Clark reunite with Pep Lijnders, the former Anfield assistant who used his Merseyside connections to sign a player, he claims, had no shortage of admirers back home in England.
Arne Slot, speaking out Clark’s departure last week, admitted that it was ‘difficult’ to let the talented midfielder go. But, like with fellow youngster Stefan Bajcetic, Liverpool were never going to stand in the way out of a teenager’s development with the prospect of regular first-team football on offer elsewhere.
Lijnders, meanwhile, sees Clark as a ‘statement’ signing for a Salzburg side who’s domination of the Austrian Bundesliga was ended by Sturm Graz last season.
Bobby Clark leaves Liverpool for Red Bull Salzburg
“The fact that he is coming to us is a proper statement about what we are doing here,” Lijnders tells Vorarlberg Online. “We are happy and honored that a talent from England has chosen Salzburg.
“He could have gone anywhere in England.”
Liverpool, at least, had the foresight to include a 17.5 per cent sell-on clause in Clarke’s contract, per BBC Sport.
Salzburg are renowned across Europe for turning talented up-and-comers into some of the best in their position.
A number of Red Bull graduates have ended up at Liverpool – including Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Dominik Szoboszlai – and the 2020 Premier League champions obviously feel that Clark is another player who could end up leaving Salzburg for a considerable sum later down the line.
Lijnders, meanwhile, admits that he played a key role in Clark’s decision to join, alongside Salzburg’s other former Liverpool coaches Vitor Matos and Andreas Kornmayer.
“Like FC Porto in the past, Salzburg has one of the best scouting systems in world football,” adds Lijnders, who spent eight years at the Portuguese powerhouses until 2014. “You just have to look at what quality, talent, potential and youth we have in the squad.
“(Clark) can play anywhere. Good players can play anywhere.”
Stefan Bajcetic could return to La Liga
Bajcetic has also been linked with a move to Salzburg this week.
HITC understands that there is interest from Real Sociedad too. The La Liga outfit have a hole to fill in their midfield after Mikel Merino’s £32 million move to Arsenal this week.
Bajcetic could be offered a return to Celta Vigo as well.
The Vigo-born 19-year-old started his career at the Andalusian outfit and could be on the way back with opportunities likely to be limited at Liverpool, especially following the emergence of Trey Nyoni.
“We will see what happens with the market,” Celta head coach Claudio Giraldez told El Desmarque before last Friday’s 3-1 victory over Valencia. “But I am clear that, if we get what we want, we will make a hyper-complete team.
“(Signing Bajcetic) is possible, like everyone else. The market is open and it’s another possibility. He’s a player I know, who knows the club, who we’ve trained. And it’s another possibility.
“We’ll see how it goes. I’ll start thinking about the market between games.”
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