Liverpool insist on Clark transfer clause as £10million deal given green light

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Red Bull Salzburg over the transfer of Bobby Clark, with the Reds securing a sell-on clause as part of the deal.

Clark has been pursued by the Austrian club throughout the summer after impressing in Liverpool red. Salzburg boss Pep Lijnders worked closely with the youngster during his time as Jurgen Klopp's number two at Anfield, and will make Clark one of the club's most expensive ever signings.

The 19-year-old, whose father Lee played Premier League football for Newcastle and Fulham, joined Liverpool for a seven-figure sum from Newcastle's academy in 2021. He has played 14 times for the Reds, scoring his first goal for the club in a Europa League victory over Sparta Prague last season.

Liverpool will receive 17.5 percent of all profits made by Salzburg on Clark. That's in addition to a £10million transfer fee for the teenager, who only signed a new long-term contract with the Reds last December. It's understood the sell-on clause is integral to the deal going through.

Clark was handed his first Premier League start last season in a dramatic 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. He had left the field by the time Darwin Nunez scored a last-gasp winner, but he spoke fondly of then-manager Klopp after getting his chance.

“It all comes from the gaffer and all the players. They fill you with confidence and they let you do your thing, so it comes from there," he told club media.

“That’s the main thing. If you don’t have a manager like that, it’s going to be much harder. Whenever I’m coming on or starting, he just lets me do my thing and fills me with confidence.”

Clark follows fellow midfielder Fabio Carvalho in leaving Anfield this week. Portugal under-21 international Carvalho has stayed in the Premier League, though, joining Brentford in a deal worth up to £27.5m.

He's also the latest addition to a Salzburg side looking to rebuild under Lijnders after missing out on the Austrian Bundesliga title last season. It means, for the first time since the 2021-22 season, they have to go through Champions League qualifying rather than going straight into the opening phase.

Lijnders' team overcame Twente - last season's third-placed Eredivisie side - to reach the Champions League play-off round. After winning 2-1 in the first leg in Austria, they progressed after a 3-3 draw in Enschede.

Standing between them and a place in the new league phase of the revamped European competition are Dynamo Kyiv. The Ukrainian runners-up won 2-0 against Rangers at Ibrox to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory over the Scottish side.