Bobby Clark transfer masterstroke now clear as Newcastle and Chelsea devastated
It was back in August in the surroundings of Liverpool's AXA Training Centre that the challenge was first laid out to Bobby Clark.
Little over 24 hours had passed since Liverpool's 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the Premier League season, where Clark's academy team-mates Ben Doak and James McConnell had made part of the Reds' travelling contingent.
He, though, was instead left back on Merseyside as speculation continued to swirl surrounding his immediate future at Anfield as clubs in the Championship and League One eyed a move for the 19-year-old before the end of the summer transfer window.
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Experiencing the rough and tumble of the English Football League is a path that has been well-trodden by many of Kirkby's young talents in recent times with the likes of Neco Williams, Tyler Morton, Harvey Elliott and in particular Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley - who spent the 2022/23 campaign with Bristol Rovers and Bolton Wanderers respectively - relishing a first, prolonged experience of first-team football and proof that the process of forging a successful career at Anfield is anything but linear.
But on that particular summer's night, it was the Reds' under-21s manager Barry Lewtas who tasked Clark and others within the squad to prove that they could take a more direct route into Jurgen Klopp's first team and referenced the headway Curtis Jones had made since making his debut in a third round FA Cup tie at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2019, not needing to drop down to England's lower leagues for exposure to the
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