Newcastle given hope over midfielder amid claims he could head to Spurs or Chelsea

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Newcastle United’s Bobby Clark has been linked with Tottenham and Chelsea.

Former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark has told Tribal Football that rumours about his son Bobby leaving the club are just speculation.

The Magpies haven’t exactly had a great record in terms of bringing through young players in recent years, and Steve Bruce is keen to change that.

He’s used both Matty and Sean Longstaff this season, and will be hoping to see more local youngsters come up through the ranks in the coming years.

The Daily Mail recently noted that Bruce thinks midfielder Clark is the best schoolboy prospect at the club, so clearly has high hopes for him.

However, they also noted that Tottenham are the frontrunners to lure Clark away from Newcastle, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United also keen.

Clark allegedly wants to stay with his hometown club, but with Clark making his Under-18 debut at the age of 14, it’s no great surprise that he is already attracting interest.

Now, Clark’s father Lee – who came up through the Newcastle ranks before racking up more than 250 appearances for the club across two spells – has commented on the situation.

The Blyth Spartans boss has suggested that it’s just speculation surrounding his teenage son, and praised the Newcastle coaching staff for the work they’re doing with him, suggesting the Magpies don’t have anything to worry about for now.

“All the reports about my son Bobby are purely speculation,” said Clark. “As I’ve wrote in this column in the past, I’m here for Bobby as his father to give him advice. I’ve been where he is at this moment in time. We are a very, very proud family that he has been selected to represent England against the Republic of Ireland and Turkey. It’s a great feat so we’re extremely proud.”

“He’s getting coached very well at Newcastle’s academy. Everyone who is there and the various different teams he plays in are terrific. Ben Dawson, the head of coaching, I have a good relationship with and I have regular contact with him and talk about how Bobby is getting on. And I let them guys get on with coaching him and looking after him. They are doing a terrific job.”