A report emerged earlier this week that claimed that Celtic were set to complete a deal to sign Bobby Clark from RB Salzburg in the January transfer window.
It was said that the Hoops were on course to tie up a £6m move for the former Liverpool starlet, who is currently on loan at Derby County in England.
However, CeltsAreHere have since reported that there has not been any contact over a deal for Clark, which suggests that the Scottish Premiership giants are not on the verge of securing his signature.
Why Celtic should not sign Bobby Clark
Celtic should avoid a deal to sign Bobby Clark for £6m in January, as they appear to be doing with CeltsAreHere’s latest update, because he has struggled for form since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2024.
Clark joined Salzburg for £10m from the Premier League giants and was sent out on loan to Derby this summer after a disappointing debut campaign in Austria.
Appearances
17
8
Starts
7
5
Goals
1
0
Key passes per game
0.6
0.4
Assists
0
0
Tackles + interceptions per game
0.8
1.1
Duel success rate
35%
35%
As you can see in the table above, the 20-year-old midfielder has scored one goal and failed to provide any assists at league level since the start of last season, losing 65% of his defensive duels in that time too.
These statistics suggest that he would not add any immediate quality to the Celtic squad, offensively or defensively, which is why the club should not pay £6m to sign him in January.
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On top of concerns over his form, Celtic should not sign Clark from Salzburg because they already have their own version of him in Arne Engels.
Why Arne Engels is a Bobby Clark-type player
Per FBref, Clark was the fourth-most statistically comparable central midfielder to Engels in the 2024/25 campaign in the Champions League.
The chart above shows that they both excelled in similar areas of the game, hence the comparison, but the Belgium international was significantly more effective as a creative force for his team, with more assists and xAG per 90.
Engels, who was signed from Augsburg for a club-record £11m fee, is also similar to Clark in terms of the kind of signing he was, as a young player who was brought in to develop and improve in value, as Salzburg attempted to do with the Englishman.
The 22-year-old starlet enjoyed a strong first season with the Scottish giants. He scored ten goals and provided 13 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, although eight of those goals came from the penalty spot.
U23 scout Antonio Mango claimed that Engels is “going to thrive” at Parkhead, but his form has taken a turn for the worse in the 2025/26 campaign.
The Belgian whiz has no goals and one assist in 12 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, which shows that his form in front of goal has suffered a dip, much like Clark’s since his move to Salzburg.
This is another reason why the Hoops do not need to sign the Derby County loanee in January, because they already have a young and promising central midfielder who is in need of a turnaround in form to get his career back on track.
Celtic paid £11m to sign Engels, which is £5m more than they may have to pay to sign Clark, and Brendan Rodgers should currently be looking at ways to get the midfield talent back to his very best at Parkhead so that £11m does not become a wasted investment.
Therefore, the Premiership champions should focus on reviving the Belgian star’s career at Parkhead instead of splashing £6m on another underperforming young midfielder.