‘Delighted to have signed’: Talented centre-back confirms Liverpool transfer to make Man City fume

Liverpool have built up a reputation for snapping up some of the globe’s top young talents, sometimes to the great frustration of the clubs involved.

Chelsea officials, for example, were said to be furious at the failure to keep hold of Rio Ngumoha after the then 15-year-old agreed a switch to Merseyside. The Blues had offered the teenager a new contract following a promotion to their U21s setup – all efforts made in vain.

One might reasonably imagine decision-makers at Manchester City will be far from pleased to have suffered a similar fate at the hands of their title rivals.

Liverpool steal Lucas Clarke in Man City transfer

Arne Slot’s men have officially added teenage talent Lucas Clarke to their youth ranks.

The 16-year-old left-sided centre-back joins the club’s U16s side after having confirmed the move himself on Instagram: “Delighted to have signed for @liverpoolfc can’t wait to get started❤️#ynwa.”

The footballer may find that chances for first-team minutes will be much harder to come by under Arne Slot compared to his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp.

The German tactician notably gave over 40 Liverpool Academy graduates (Football 365) their debuts during his nine-year stint at the Anfield helm, including the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Doak.

Admittedly, it was a somewhat different climate at L4 when the former Dortmund boss initially took over the ropes from Brendan Rodgers.

Klopp inherited players like Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana. Slot, by contrast, was gifted arguably the leading goalkeeper in world football, Alisson Becker, a generational fullback in Alexander-Arnold and the Premier League’s leading winger in Mo Salah.

Jarell Quansah, restricted to 334 minutes in 2024/25 this season (despite a superb breakthrough campaign in 2023/24), is a great case in point. The young centre-back started the campaign as one of the Dutchman’s first-choice centre-backs but found himself substituted at half-time against Ipswich after struggling to complete his challenges.

With the Reds top of the leagues (in England and the Champions League), however, there can be few complaints over Arne Slot’s decision-making thus far.