Derby County will know they have a great chance of signing Bobby Clark on one clear condition | OneFootball

The 20-year-old has been a key player for the Rams this season ever since taking his chance in a central role

Derby County will surely know they’ll have a greater chance of permanently signing Bobby Clark if one clear condition is met.

Since signing on loan from RB Salzburg in August, the 20-year-old has forgotten his somewhat slow start to become one of the first names on John Eustace's team sheet.

Considering the fact that Celtic were credited with interest in signing the midfielder just before his upturn in form, as per The Times, there’s perhaps more potential suitors keeping a close eye on Clark as time goes on.

So, what exactly would give the Rams a better chance of signing him permanently? Well, going up, of course.

Derby County promotion push could unlock permanent Bobby Clark deal

Head coach John Eustace has already made it clear - via DerbyshireLive - that he 'would love' to sign Bobby Clark permanently, saying: "We'd love to sign him, of course we would, but let's just worry about this season now and let's keep doing our work with him and see him flourish.

"If we could sign him, that'd be fantastic, and, if not, he's had a great season with us. Let's see where it takes us," the Rams boss added.

Look, Eustace has consistently stressed in interviews about, first, getting 50-points to stay up, and secondly, how his project at Derby is a long-term one. BUT, factoring in the deadline day additions of Derry Murkin and Sammie Szmodics, surely the club see a genuine opportunity to try and get promoted this season.

And clearly, Clark’s development at Pride Park is central to that potentially happening. That break he had in central midfield, which started against QPR in October, really kick-started his Rams career. Now playing ahead of Lewis Travis and David Ozoh as a number 10, the Liverpool academy prospect is starting to add goals to his game.

In his last seven games, Clark has managed to find the back of the net three times. Before that, his only strike was against Burnley in the Carabao Cup, in the same month he signed.

Why promotion changes the Bobby Clark conversation for John Eustace and Derby County

Along with Eustace being realistic about the chances of signing Clark, he also said, “I’m sure it would,” when asked if it would take a large sum of money to sign the youngster permanently.

Given how this season is going, Salzburg will definitely be looking to protect or even build on the reported £10m they paid Liverpool, which places any fee in territory that would normally be a stretch for a Championship side still re-establishing itself.

Promotion would change that conversation almost overnight - both in terms of money available to spend and how attractive the club will be to come back too.

Derby fans on both social media, and at games, have made it clear that they want a permanent deal for Clark to happen. With chants of "sign him up" being a regular occurrence in the stands, one fan wanted the club to go all out this past window - yet others perhaps knew it was a stretch too far.

Ultimately, the East Midlands outfit must first emerge from this season with enough money to pay Salzburg what they want - and then convince Clark to stay at Pride Park instead of maybe going elsewhere.

That doesn't necessarily mean automatic promotion is the only route, but a serious promotion push feels like what's needed to try and make a permanent move realistic, instead of just hopeful.