Liverpool set for January transfer boost as Arne Slot decision quickly pays off

Liverpool could be in line for a major windfall in January with a deal potentially involving former Reds boss Brendan Rodgers in the pipeline months before the window opens

Liverpool could be set to bank a second windfall following Bobby Clarke’s £10m exit from the club. The Reds sold the midfielder to Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg shortly after Arne Slot took the reins at Anfield.

Liverpool agreed a deal of around £10m for Clarke’s services, who was reunited with former Reds assistant Pep Ljinders in Austria. The 20-year-old made 25 appearances for the club during his debut season.

Clarke was surprisingly sent on loan to Championship side Derby County at the start of this season and it appears that he could be on the move once again very soon. According to The Times, Celtic have agreed a £6m deal with Salzburg and the move will become official in January.

The move would see Clark play under former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, with his debut for the side potentially coming on January 3 against Celtic’s fierce rivals Rangers. It would also bank Liverpool a welcome bonus, having slotted a 17.5 per cent sell-on clause into the agreement – a clause that could be worth just over £1m to the Reds.

Speaking about a potential move, current Derby boss Jonathan Eustace said: “It’s the first I’ve heard of it. That’s interesting but we certainly don’t want to lose him.

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“I think we brought Bobby in to help develop him, to give him a platform to perform and he’s certainly done that up to now. There’s a lot more to come from him. I think we’re developing him in the right way.

“This is the culture and environment we set here at Derby. The players that come are going to be developed properly and it’s great that big clubs like Celtic are looking at him but we certainly don’t want him to go anywhere.”

Asked if there was a clause in his contract that could lead to a move, he added: “Not that I’m aware of. Listen, January’s a long way away. I’m not worried about that, let’s keep giving him some important minutes, let’s see how his performances are from now to then.

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“I know they’ve been improving, his numbers are getting better and he’s getting fitter and we’ll worry about that in January.”

“The most important thing is Bobby is our player until then at least and we keep working well with him and he keeps performing well with us,” Eustace said.

Clark made his debut for Liverpool at the age of 17 under Jurgen Klopp and he went on to make 14 appearances for the club before his exit. He has so far made ten appearances for Derby during his loan spell in the Midlands, scoring once.

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