Bobby Clark transfer finalized, Liverpool expected to make profits

Liverpool will receive a windfall of eight figures in January when they make a hain out of the impending sale by Bobby Clark in Salzburg to Celtic, despite the fact that the player is on loan.

Clark departed Liverpool and went to Salzburg in 2024, a year which had been a hard one, but a loan move to Derby saw him back in England in the summer.

He will have his time at the Championship strugglers truncated in January, however, with the Times having it that Martin Hardy, joining Celtic as their player.

Celtic have reached an agreement with the midfielder amounting £6 million and Liverpool has a 17.5 percent share in the deal.  This is because of a release clause that was agreed paid 10 million to acquire Clark in the first instance.

That sale of the 20-year-old to Celtic will therefore give Liverpool another £1.05 million.

Salzburg are already making profits on the first deal – the third priciest in their history – which was managed by Pepijn Lijnders in his short-lived tenure as head coach.

At least 15 clubs had an interest in the summer and Newcastle had been given an opportunity to re-sign their academy graduate at £5 million.

However, the ultimate departure of Clark to Celtic – through a spell at Derby which has so far made him play 10 times- will make Liverpool even more profitable. 

Clark was sold to Newcastle for £1.5 million by the Reds in 2021, which was technically paid with striker Ethan Ennis of the same club being sold to Man United at the same price.

Liverpool had profited greatly at Clark. It implies that Liverpool will make a total of £9.55 million in terms of the profit of signing and selling the youngster.

Salzburg too are under obligation to give Premier League champions first refusal on any transaction to re-sign Clark, though that is not very likely to be factored.

In 2022, Clark debuted in the first team in Liverpool, substituting in a 9-0 destruction of Bournemouth in the Premier League, and became a 14-appearances player.

Four of them were as a starter and 12 in his last season in the club in 2023/24, where he also scored his first and only goal in the 6-1 defeat of Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Clark also had a contract with Salzburg until 2029, however, it appears apparent that the five-year agreement that he signed slightly more than a year ago will be shredded after not even 18 months.