Wrexham have added former Liverpool youngster Bobby Clark to their summer transfer wishlist. He looks set to leave RB Salzburg after just one season with the club.
Wrexham have started their summer transfer window with the capture of former Plymouth Argyle frontman Ryan Hardie.
Hardie joined Wrexham in a £700,000 deal and he adds definite quality and Championship experience to Phil Parkinson’s side, which desperately needs it ahead of what promises to be a gruelling Championship campaign.
There are plenty of players being linked with a move to Wrexham this summer and the latest to join the list is Bobby Clark.
A product of the Birmingham City and Newcastle United youth academies, Clark left Liverpool last summer to join RB Salzburg, but he’s not enjoyed a fruitful first season with the Austrian giants.
Bobby Clark’s career stats so far
Clark made five Premier League appearances for Liverpool in the 2023/24 season. He looked set to become the next big thing under Jurgen Klopp, but the German left the club and so too did Clark.
Last season with Salzburg, he went on to make 16 league appearances and scored the one goal, even making six appearances in the Champions League. But by all accounts it was a very difficult season for Clark and now it looks like he could be returning to England.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg are among the clubs rumoured to be interested. In England, Sunderland, Leicester City, West Brom, Birmingham City and Wrexham are the teams said to be keeping tabs.
| Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Liverpool | 14 | 1 | 2 |
| Liverpool U21s | 37 | 5 | 6 |
| Liverpool U18s | 27 | 13 | 5 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 25 | 1 | 1 |
Wrexham transfer target Bobby Clark’s troubles at Red Bull Salzburg revealed
Klopp once described Clark as ‘a really good player’ when speaking to Amazon Prime back in 2022. However, it’s not all been positive for Clark: current Salzburg boss Thomas Letsch had some stern words to say about Clark.
Letsch said of Clark’s training back in April: “I wasn’t satisfied with Bobby’s training week and therefore told him he wasn’t in the squad.”
The club’s sporting director also weighed in, adding: “The situation is unsatisfactory for both sides. We need every single player on the [right] path. And then, of course, we’ll put our heads together and look at the direction towards the summer, what makes sense and what doesn’t. This [situation] is certainly frustrating for Bobby.”
Is Bobby Clark set to leave Red Bull Salzburg on loan or permanently?
This seems to be the big question, and the answer could quickly price Wrexham out of a move this summer. It appears as though Salzburg are ready to cut ties with Clark on a permanent basis and a starting point could be £10million, which is what Salzburg paid Liverpool to sign Clark last summer.
Worryingly, Liverpool inserted a 17.5% sell-on clause when they sold Clark to Salzburg. So that could mean Salzburg up the price even higher than £10million to ensure they get back most of what they paid for him.
Reports state that Wrexham have a £25million transfer budget this summer and Clark could end up costing almost half of that amount.
Bobby Clark to Wrexham analysis – Phil Parkinson should steer clear
The whole mantra at Wrexham is having a positive mood among the players. Parkinson hasn’t signed the biggest and best names but he’s long prided his Wrexham success on the fact that he’s had a really positive group of players.
Earlier in the summer, Parkinson said he doesn’t want to sign any superstars or players with egos. And whilst the situation with Clark at Salzburg remains somewhat unclear, Parkinson might think twice about signing him given what he can read about his attitude towards training.
Not just that, but Clark has been quite public in venting his frustration at his Salzburg situation. Earlier in the year he dropped a social media post of himself alone on the training ground, simply with a shrugging emoji, and it prompted some response on social media.
His father is often vocal about his son, too, angling for transfers, and so this doesn’t seem like the kind of player Parkinson wants in his side, albeit he remains a very good player with lots of potential.
With the £10million price tag on top of all of that, Clark to Wrexham doesn’t seem very likely at this moment in time.