Liverpool
Premier League • England
Liverpool seal signing of teenage prospect from Man City as defender sends excitable 12-word message
Arne Slot's Liverpool are building for the present and the future
Liverpool have secured the signing of talented left-footed centre-half Lucas Clarke, with the 16-year-old joining from Manchester City and admitting that he “can’t wait to get started”.
Arne Slot’s first team are firing on all cylinders so far this season, winning an incredible 19 of 22 matches across all competitions so far to sit nicely aloft of both the Premier League and Champions League. Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Girona in the Champions League means Liverpool are the only 100% side in Europe’s premier competition, with the Reds having kept clean sheets in all but one of those clashes.
With Slot’s side gearing up nicely for what they hope will be a successful second-half of the season, the Reds academy is also bursting with plenty of exciting young names too and look well placed to potentially save the club millions in the transfer market in years to come.
And the signing of Clarke is the latest addition to their youth ranks, with the 16-year-old’s move to Anfield now confirmed after they raided Manchester City for the talented left-footed centre-half.
He will hook up with Liverpool’s Under-16s academy side in the first instance, but will hope to progress through the age groups and eventually land a chance with the senior men’s side – though of course that could be quite a few years away yet.
Clarke took to his Instagram page to celebrate the move to Anfield where he posted a 12-word message of celebration.
‘Delighted to have signed for @liverpoolfc can’t wait to get started #ynwa‘.
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Clarke the latest teenage star Liverpool have brought in
Liverpool have made a nice habit over recent years of picking up some of British football’s most promising young talent with perhaps Harvey Elliott the best example in recent years. The 21-year-old moved to Anfield from Fulham in 2019 for an undisclosed fee, which was ultimately believed to be in the region of £7m.
But having become the youngest player to start a competitive game for Liverpool when he featured in the EFL Cup match against MK Dons in September of the same year at the age of 16 years and 174 days, the player has gone on to make 122 appearances for the Merseysiders.
In recent times Liverpool have also raided the likes of Celtic, for Ben Doak – who is currently thriving on loan at Championship Middlesbrough – and Rio Ngumoha, who ditched Chelsea to move to Anfield over the summer.
Trey Nyoni is another hot prospect, with the 17-year-old also having made two senior appearances under previous boss Jurgen Klopp, and having being lured to Anfield from Leicester’s academy.
Becoming a senior figure at Anfield will undoubtedly be Clarke’s long-term goal and he can certainly take inspiration from the likes of Elliott and Nyoni who have walked similar paths.
Indeed, the Reds academy is bursting with exciting young hopefuls, with James McConnell and Jayden Danns two other young stars he can learn alongside.
Latest Liverpool news: Salah contract progress; new Zubimendi revelation
Meanwhile, arguably Liverpool’s most important senior player, Mo Salah, is seemingly a step closer to extending his stay after a big update from a senior Sky Sports reporter.
And according to Melissa Reddy, the Egyptian wants to sign his contract “incredibly soon” with details now emerging of the progress the Reds have made.
It’s not such a promising update, though, over Liverpool’s most famous of all academy graduates in recent years: Trent Alexander-Arnold. With the 26-year-old’s deal due to expire at the end of the current season, reports in Spain have now stated Real Madrid’s confidence in recruiting the Reds vice-captain and with a date coming to light on when he might sign on the dotted line.
Elsewhere, amid more talk of Martin Zubimendi moving to Anfield in 2025, former winger Steve McManaman has dropped a stunning revelation that the Real Sociedad midfielder actually went as far as posing with the Liverpool shirt over the summer before his aborted switch.