Derby County manager John Eustace has reacted to reports linking Bobby Clark with a move to Celtic.
The former Liverpool midfielder is currently on loan at the English Championship club from RB Salzburg.
Reports circulated on Thursday afternoon suggesting that Clark, who has played 10 times for Derby this season, is set to join the Parkhead club on a permanent deal in January worth £6million.
"It's the first I've heard of it, so that's interesting," said Eustace when asked about the speculation today [Derby Telegraph]. "But we certainly don't want to lose him.
Read more:
- Scottish football manager on trial accused of attacking Rangers fan
- Rangers confirm management team for Dundee United clash
"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, but this is the culture and the environment that we set here at Derby.
"The players that have come are going to be developed properly, and it's great that big clubs like Celtic can look at him. We certainly don't want him to go anywhere."
Clark is an England youth international and was handed his Liverpool debut by Jurgen Klopp at 17 back in 2022.
"January's a long way away, and I'm not worried about it," Eustace continued. "Let's just keep giving him some important minutes. Let's see how his performances are from now to then. I know they've been improving.
"His numbers are getting better, he's getting fitter, and we'll worry about that in January. All I can concentrate on is keeping working with Bobby with the staff that we have.
"We've got great staff here to help develop all the players and, as I say, this is the kind of environment we want to set and that every player who comes in will see there's a pathway to playing in Europe and moving on to possibly bigger clubs.
"The most important thing is that Bobby's our player till then at least, and we keep working well with him and he keeps performing for us."
Share