This season has been one to remember for Liverpool’s academy system.
Often seen as being slightly behind some their Premier League rivals in terms of developing home-grown talent, Liverpool have come to the party in 2023/24.
In Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah they can boast two of the finest young players in the country. Both have taken to the first-team squad like ducks to water this year.
It isn’t just Bradley and Quansah who have been impressing, though. There have been a further handful of breakout stars for the Reds as they push for the Premier League title.
And as it turns out, one of those talents is actually being recognised as one of the very best on the continent. As the race for the European Golden Boy award 2024 heats up, one Liverpool youngster looks set to make the shortlist.
Bobby Clark named on Golden Boy Index
The Golden Boy award is a gong handed out to the most outstanding young player starring in a European league over a calendar year.
And although the winner isn’t announced until December, the award’s website have released a new, data-based table of the current rankings.
To be eligible, a player has to have been born in or before 2004 and must be playing in a top 25 UEFA recognised league. Those criteria rule out the likes of Bradley, Quansah and indeed Harvey Elliott, who were all born in 2003. But, born in 2005, it does mean that Bobby Clark is in the running.
The top 100 is said to be converged using ‘constant monitoring of the players’ performances’ from analytics company Football Benchmark.
Things such as playing time, transfers and performances in national and club teams reportedly determines the ever-changing scores of the players in contention. With the current table updated today and taking into account data from October until the end of March, Clark is sitting in 65th position.
That is obviously a long way from the top. But when you consider that the top three are Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Joao Neves of Benfica and Man United youngster Alejandro Garncho, you see the standard Bobby is up against. Keep plugging away, lad!
Will Bobby Clark stay at Liverpool next season
Although it’s obvious that Jurgen Klopp highly rates Clark, it remains to be seen how the manager’s exit affects the 19-year-old.
Having made 12 appearances this season, Bobby is reportedly seen as a genuine member of the first-team picture. But it’s impossible to know how a new coach will see that.
Listening to Fernando Torres name-check Clark recently though, it’s obvious that he’s well thought of outside of the club. If he catches the new boss’ eye in pre-season, there’s every chance he can kick on in the next campaign.
Obviously, it would be an enormous shock if Clark were to trump the likes of Yamal and come out on top here. But he’ll still be eligible next year and we’d back him to be higher up in 12 months time.