Peering on the Anfield touchline, Bobby Clark was unfazed.
As Liverpool romped to a 9-0 victory over Bournemouth in late August, Jurgen Klopp would hand Clark a moment he would never forget as he became the Reds’ latest academy graduate to be introduced into the riches of the Premier League.
For Clark, it was the latest chapter of his rapid rise through the Reds’ youth ranks since Klopp’s face-to-face talks with the 18-year-old and his family in the summer of 2021 convinced the midfielder to swap boyhood club Newcastle for Anfield.
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Signing on the dotted lines on Merseyside, Liverpool agreed on a shrewd £1.5m deal with the Magpies in late August, just weeks after former Reds prodigy Ethan Ennis had departed Kirkby in favour of a move to bitter rivals Manchester United in a similarly structured deal.
This season, Clark has, alongside academy team-mates Ben Doak and Stefan Bajcetic, proved to be a flickering source of hope for Reds supporters in what has been a ruinous campaign at senior level, with all three teenagers training regularly at the AXA Training Centre this term.
Primarily playing under Liverpool’s U18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson last term, Clark caught the eye of Pep Lijnders during a stellar maiden campaign on Merseyside where he helped the young Reds reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League while also finishing the U18s Premier League North campaign with 18 goal contributions in 23 games.
Such eye-catching performances saw Clark promoted to the Reds’ under-23s during the off-season, with manager Barry Lewtas taking an immediate liking to the 18-year-old’s skillset and making the decision to transform the youngster from a free-scoring left winger into a disciplined left-sided central midfielder.
“Well, obviously, I watched him from afar last season and I thought he did well,” Lewtas tells the ECHO. “He maybe played a little bit more of an advanced role. This year we’ve used him more as an eight. I’ve been really pleased with him. I don’t think he’s someone who’s really looked upon as one of the younger ones in the group.”
Such mature performances on Merseyside have earned Clark recognition on the international stage with England under-19s manager Neil Ryan handing the Reds star his debut against the Faroe Islands in September 2022.
While it goes without saying how big of a factor Clark’s undeniable talent has played in his early career success, a journey back to the spring of 2020 paints a picture as to why the Newcastle-born star has enjoyed such a prominent rise in the three years since.
Left without academy training in the early months of 2020 as humanity fell victim to the rampant effects of Covid-19, one-to-one specialist football coach Ryan Drane was approached by Clark’s eldest brother about the prospect of working with the then Newcastle United teen.
“I remember my first impressions of him during the first couple of sessions were just unbelievable,” recalls Drane. “I couldn’t understand how after being away from football for so long he was hardly making mistakes. The sessions were always intense, which showed his determination to maintain high standards all of the time.”
Clark would continue his extra sessions outside of Newcastle United’s timetable during the 2020/21 season before being left in limbo and without a club to train at in the summer of 2021 as he waited for his impending transfer to Anfield to be finalised.
“In terms of the sessions, it was clear he had all the attributes and it was a case of just keeping him as sharp as possible because there was a spell before he went into Liverpool where he was left without a club and he missed the parts of pre-season,” says Drane.
But unlike his one-time student of the game, Drane was taken aback by the midfielder’s calming introduction to Premier League life back in August.
“I was at Anfield back in August for his debut against Bournemouth. It was such a surreal feeling, even for me,” he adds. “Especially due to being a Liverpool fan and knowing how hard he’d worked over the last few years to put himself into that position and make it all happen.
After Liverpool were knocked out of the UEFA Youth League last month, it promises to be a steady end to the season for Lewtas’ under-21s squad with just three Premier League 2 games remaining, but the 48-year-old is full of praise for Clark’s development during an unforgettable second season on Merseyside.
“He’s managed to get through an awful lot of games including international games for his country, European games for us and the number of games we get through in the Premier League 2,” says the Liverpool under-21's boss. “So he’s kind of really shown a real ability to churn out games, but I think what’s really important is not just churning out games but showing real quality as well.
“He’s still got lots to develop and improve but I think he’s done ever so well for us over the course of the season and it probably goes unnoticed that he’s on the team sheet most games.
Asked where the midfielder’s long-term positional future lies, Lewtas believes his endless quality makes him an exciting prospect of what will surely be a 2023/24 campaign filled with first-team experience, perhaps away from Anfield, replying: “It depends on wherever he’s needed by a manager.
“I think what’s really exciting is for someone so young he has shown that he’s able to play in the middle of the park, both in and out of possession.
“He’s extremely talented and his pressing is excellent. He’s been a really good player for us, but I also think he’s made massive strides as well, big improvements, and that’s what he’s going to have to continue to do.”
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