Official: Leighton Clarkson Signs Professional Contract

“It’s the button on the right, Dad. No...*your* right!” - Leighton Clarkson, probably. | Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

The promising 17 year-old midfielder put pen to paper today.

Liverpool’s summer transfer window has, to date, been quiet. It was to be expected and was even tipped as being such from club representatives. This is a good squad with quality players across various positions.

True, if you were to poll most supporters, they would undoubtedly find spaces they’d like to fill to ease their own anxiety. It is, after all, the way of the football fan. And this scribe himself would have put a few pieces on top of his wish list: a versatile forward that would allow for rotation among the front three, some cover at fullback, and perhaps one more midfielder.

Trusting in Klopp and Company, though, to be the true assessors of this club’s current standing in terms of meeting the goals they’ve set for themselves is a fun game to play, though. And given the results from the work of Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards, I’d say that trust is well-earned.

It stands, then, that the type of contract work we’ve been releasing this summer is of the understated type. So it goes with the official site reporting that 17 year-old midfielder Leighton Clarkson has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool.

Clarkson has been with the club since the U8 level and was a key component in the U18s FA Cup winning campaign. He’s described as being a creative midfielder who’s seen his role transitioned further back in the midfield to take advantage of his full range of passing. That’s an interesting note given the news this summer of Adam Lallana potentially playing the role of the 6 this coming year and thinking back to when Georginio Wijnaldum played a similar role in starts over the last season and a half.

Clarkson is clearly one to watch for the future, but given that his role is one that’s got an analog to the first team and that the club are happy to offer him a contract, it’s safe to say that he is on the radar. Here’s hoping Clarkson’s development continues apace and that he eventually reaches a level that sees him take the pitch for the Reds at Anfield.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com