Derby County: How John Eustace feels about signing Bobby Clark permanently | OneFootball

The 21-year-old midfielder has just been shortlisted for the Championship's Young Player of the Season Award

Derby County’s impressive Championship campaign has produced plenty of standout players, but few have improved quite like Bobby Clark.

Since forming a midfield partnership with Crystal Palace loanee David Ozoh back in October, against Queens Park Rangers, 21‑year‑old Clark has become a key figure in John Eustace’s plans.

Which has led to growing intrigue around whether the RB Salzburg loanee's stay at Pride Park could be made permanent this summer.

That possibility came under the spotlight ahead of Derby’s clash with Southampton, when BBC Radio Derby’s Dominic Dietrich quizzed Eustace on his desire to keep Clark as part of the Rams’ long-term project.

Eustace, who has spoken consistently about the importance of maintaining togetherness within his squad, left little doubt about his appreciation for the midfielder’s impact since arriving from Austria.

John Eustace hopeful over permanent Bobby Clark deal at Derby County

Dietrich proposed the following question to Eustace on Thursday: "You said after the game on Monday that you wanted to keep as much of this group together - of course Bobby’s on loan - do you feel like it’s realistic this summer that you could possibly make that happen permanently?”

To which Eustace replied with, "Yeah, I certainly hope so, why not?

"We want to progress, we want to build, we want to grow the football club and, you know, we want to keep as many of our top players as we can, for sure. Bobby’s certainly one of them," the head coach added.

Eustace went on to admit that the financial aspects of the deal are out of his hands, but hinted at a shared desire between player and club to extend the relationship.

He revealed, "I don’t know about that side of it [finances], that’s obviously to do with the two clubs. I think everyone connected with Derby can see how well he’s done, and he’s really part of the family and how he’d love to continue with his development."

Any potential permanent signing of Bobby Clark is far from straightforward, though. Salzburg paid Liverpool a reported fee of £10m for him in 2024, with the Premier League side retaining a huge 17.5% sell-on clause.

Derby County may face heavy competition to sign Bobby Clark permanently

Clark has been shortlisted for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season Award, having provided three goals and as many assists in 40 league games for the East Midlands outfit since his arrival.

However, it’s a far cry from the early months of his Derby career, when his adaptation to Championship football was perhaps slower than expected.

The Times even reported back in October that the youngster was ready to join Celtic permanently in a £6m deal, but that proposed move obviously never happened.

Since then, it’s fair to say that Clark has flourished under Eustace’s guidance - but there must be other clubs keeping him on their transfer radar for the upcoming summer window because of this.

Whether a permanent deal for Clark materialises this summer at Pride Park remains to be seen, but Eustace has made his feelings very clear in wanting it to happen.