Brighton sign Pompey defender Matt Clarke for £3.5m
The first signing of the Graham Potter era is here as Brighton and Hove Albion have completed the capture of Portsmouth defender Matt Clarke for £3.5m
The 22-year-old centre back has signed a four-year deal with the Albion. The fee could rise to £5m should he achieve a number of targets during his time at the Amex.
Potter has long been an admirer of Clarke. The new Albion boss was spotted at Fratton Park watching him during Pompey’s League One play off semi final second leg clash with Sunderland back in May whilst still Swansea City manager.
Clarke was held in high regard by the Pompey faithful. Despite his tender years, he was club captain and was voted as their Player of the Season in both the past two seasons, making the League One PFA Team of the Year last time out.
Clarke came through the ranks at Ipswich Town, making his debut for the Tractor Boys in August 2014. He joined Pompey on loan in the 2015-16 season and completed a permanent move that summer, going onto make 142 appearances in four seasons in deepest, darkest Hampshire.
During his time with Portsmouth, Clarke won promotion from League Two and lifted the Checkatrade Checkatrade.com Trophy at Wembley in April after helping Pompey to defeat Sunderland on penalties.
The signing is an interesting one. Clarke is clearly a talented young player, but his development could now be stalled by a lack of first team football as by moving to the Amex, he is likely to be limiting the amount of game time he gets.
After all, he will need to be seriously impressive to dislodge one of Shane Duffy or Lewis Dunk from the starting line up, both of whom have been outstanding over the past two seasons since the Albion won promotion to the Premier League.
Rumours continue to circulate about Leicester City’s apparent interest in signing Dunk. Much of that seems to hinge on whether Harry Maguire departs the King Power Stadium this summer.
Should a big bid be incoming from the Foxes for the services of Dunk, then having Clarke already signed may make it slightly easier for the Albion to sell.
Dunk himself may well want to make the move. No matter what the more blinkered of our supporters may think, a transfer to a side capable of challenging for Europe this season who are packed with some of the best young talents in the Premier League would be a step up for the Albion captain.
Of course, interest could yet surface in Shane Duffy given his stellar season in which he won our own Player of the Year award. Potter and the club are said to be aware of the “drinking culture” within the squad and know that it needs dealing with. A big money bid that moves on one of the main culprits may see them more tempted to sell then many of us realise.
Alternatively, the club may try and flog Leon Balogun. Goal against Crystal Palace and a decent showing away at Liverpool aside, the Nigeria international didn’t exactly pull up many trees in 2018-19. At 31, he may be seeking first team football that he isn’t going to get at the Amex.
Given that he arrived on a free transfer, receiving any sort of fee for his services would mean the club turning a profit on Balogun.
Right now, that seems the most likely option – unless Potter is planning on playing 3-5-2 next season, in which case five centre backs suddenly doesn’t seem so excessive.
Whatever the thinking, if you listen to Pompey fans then it is clear that we have signed an extremely capable player who Potter has wanted to work with for some time. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
