Liverpool poach young defender from Man City to land early blow before January transfer window
Liverpool have continued their attempts to bolster their academy ranks with the best youngsters in the country by signing 16-year-old defender Lucas Clarke from Manchester City
Liverpool have signed 16-year-old defender Lucas Clarke from Manchester City as part of their push to bolster their youth ranks.
The Reds have been on a clear push to hoover up the most promising talent in the country in recent years and have poached Clarke from their rivals. The left-sided centre-back will join Liverpool ’s under-16s squad.
Writing on Instagram, Clarke said: “Delighted to have signed for @liverpoolfc can’t wait to get started #ynwa”.
Back in September, Liverpool completed the signing of Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea. The 16-year-old attacker had made a huge impression with the Blues, who had promoted him to the under-21s and offered him a new contract.
But Ngumoha was lured to Merseyside, where he took up the offer of a scholarship, in part because he saw a clearer pathway to the first team at Liverpool. Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley and Trey Nyoni are among the young academy graduates who have made the step up to Arne Slot ’s side in the past few years, providing hope for those below them.
Slot was hired to succeed Jurgen Klopp partly due to his history of bringing through youngsters at his previous club Feyenoord. “I like to see good players and if they are old or young, that doesn’t matter that much,” the Dutchman said in his first Liverpool press conference in the summer.
“It’s always nice for a club and team that young players come through the ranks. That always gives energy to a club. In the end, it’s all about the quality. If they continue doing well, there will be a fair chance that they will play.”
Speaking after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League last month, Slot pointed out the importance of the academy after Conor Bradley’s outstanding performance. “It is nice for him, his family and us but also for the academy,” he said. “Not only him … Caoimhin [Kelleher] and Curtis [Jones] were outstanding. To have three academy players doing so well is a big compliment for the academy.”
As well as Ngumoha, Liverpool have recruited Nyoni ( Leicester ), Amara Nallo ( West Ham ) and Kornel Misciur ( Hull City ) from rival club’s academies in recent years. Their moves followed the success of Ben Doak, who was signed from Celtic in 2022, Stefan Bajcetic, who arrived from Celta Vigo, and Bobby Clark, who joined from Newcastle in 2022 and was sold to Red Bull Salzburg in the summer for £10million.
James McConnell ( Sunderland ) and Calum Scanlon (Birmingham City) are among the others who have joined Liverpool from rival academies. The Reds’ academy has a good reputation and Clarke will work with U16s coach Lewis Nightingale upon his arrival.
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