Bobby Clark to Celtic transfer directly addressed by Derby boss as Brendan Rodgers sent clear message
Rising star Clark, 20, is currently on loan at the Rams from Austrian giants RB Salzburg
Perplexed John Eustace admits he’s been left in the dark over rumours linking Bobby Clark with a move to Celtic.
The Derby County boss was caught off guard in Thursday’s press conference after reports claimed the midfielder was set to seal a £6million switch to Parkhead in January.
Record Sport understands the speculation is wide of the mark.
Clark, 20, is currently on a season-long loan at the Rams from RB Salzburg, who signed him from Liverpool in a bumper £10m deal last year.
The England Under-20 starlet has made 10 appearances for the Championship club this term, scoring once, and has established himself as a regular starter.
Eustace has made it clear he doesn’t want to lose the playmaker, who is understood to be keen on returning to the UK on a permanent basis.
He said: “It’s (Celtic report) the first I’ve heard of it, so that’s interesting. But we certainly don’t want to lose him.
“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 environment we’ve set here at Derby.
“The players who come here are going to be developed properly, and it’s great that big clubs like Celtic are looking at him.
“We certainly don’t want him to go anywhere.”
Eustace insists he isn’t concerned about losing the attacking midfielder in the winter window and vowed his game time wouldn’t be affected in the meantime.
He added: “January’s a long way away. I’m not worried about that - let’s just keep giving him important minutes.
“Let’s see how his performances are from now until 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 working with Bobby alongside the staff we have here.
“We’ve got great people to help develop all the players, and this is the kind of environment we want - one where every player sees a pathway to playing in Europe and moving on to bigger clubs.
“The most important thing is that Bobby’s our player until then, at least, and we’ll keep working with him to make sure he keeps performing for us.”