Matthew Clarke (footballer, born 1996)

Matthew Edward Barkell Clarke (born 22 September 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Derby County, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Matt Clarke
Personal information
Full name Matthew Edward Barkell Clarke[1]
Date of birth (1996-09-22) 22 September 1996
Place of birth Barham, Suffolk, England[2]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Derby County
(on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
Number 16
Youth career
2002–2014 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Ipswich Town 4 (0)
2015–2016 → Portsmouth (loan) 29 (1)
2016–2019 Portsmouth 121 (6)
2019– Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Derby County (loan) 35 (1)
2020– → Derby County (loan) 26 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Club career

Ipswich Town

Born in Barham, Suffolk, Clarke joined Ipswich Town academy as an U7 and signed a scholarship with the club in the summer of 2013. He was included in the main squad for the pre-season in the following year.

Clarke made his professional debut for the club on 12 August 2014, starting as a left back in a 0–1 Football League Cup away loss against Crawley Town.[4] On 11 September he signed a two-year professional deal with the club.[5]

Portsmouth

In July 2015, Clarke went on a trial at Portsmouth,[6] signing a six-month loan deal with the club on 3 August.[7]

On 2 September 2015, Clarke signed a new two-year contract at Ipswich Town, contracting him to the club until June 2017. His loan deal at Portsmouth was subsequently extended until the end of the season in January 2016.

Clarke signed a permanent three-year deal with Pompey on 1 July 2016, after a swap with Ipswich for Adam Webster was agreed.[8] Despite suffering an injury at the end of the 2015–16 campaign which ruled him out of the opening weeks of the new campaign,[9] he established himself as one of Portsmouth's most reliable performers as they won the 2016–17 League Two title. His partnership with Christian Burgess ensured that Portsmouth conceded the fewest league goals over the course of the season, letting in just 40 goals in 46 matches.

On 14 February 2018, after remaining a regular starter, Clarke extended his contract until 2020.[10]

Clarke was in the winning squad for Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy Final on 31 March 2019.[11]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 21 June 2019, Clarke's departure from Portsmouth was announced, with the centre-back signing a four-year deal at Brighton & Hove Albion for an undisclosed fee.[12]

Derby County (loans)

On 2 August 2019, Clarke joined Derby County on a season-long loan.[13] 3 days later, Clarke made his debut for Derby in their opening game of the season in a 2–1 away win against Huddersfield.[14] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Hull City on 18 January 2020.[15] He made 37 appearances for Derby during the 2019–20 season, with his performances earning him the Derby County Player of the Year award.[16]

On 26 August, it was revealed that Clarke would return to Derby on a further season-long loan deal for the 2020–21 season.[17][18]

Career statistics
As of match played 3 February 2021[19]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town 2014–15 Championship 4000100050
Portsmouth (loan) 2015–16 League Two 291202000331
Portsmouth 2016–17 League Two 33110002[lower-alpha 1]0361
2017–18 League One 42210003[lower-alpha 1]1463
2018–19 League One 46350108[lower-alpha 2]1604
Subtotal 150790301321759
Brighton & Hove Albion 2019–20 Premier League 000000—00
Derby County (loan) 2019–20 Championship 3511010—371
2020–21 Championship 2600020—280
Total 611103000651
Career total 21281007013224210
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Six appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League One Play-offs

Honours

Portsmouth

Individual

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. "Youngster Clarke Getting Better and Better". TWTD. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  3. "Matthew Clarke". Portsmouth F.C. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. "Crawley 1–0 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  5. "New deals for Bishop and Clarke". Ipswich Town FC. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  6. "Ipswich boss expects Matt Clarke Pompey loan agreement". Portsmouth News. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  7. "Clarke arrives on loan". Portsmouth FC. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. "Matt Clarke to make Portsmouth move permanent" (in Spanish). Sky Sports. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. "CLARKE: WHAT A RELIEF – News – Portsmouth". Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. "Matt Clarke: Portsmouth defender signs new contract until 2020". BBC Sport. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  11. "Checkatrade Trophy Final: Portsmouth 2-2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  12. "Matt Clarke: Brighton sign defender from Portsmouth for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  13. "Matt Clarke: Rams Sign Centre-Back Clarke On Loan". Derby County F.C. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  14. "Huddersfield Town 1–2 Derby County in the Championship live - Live - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  15. "Derby 1-0 Hull". BBC Sport. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  16. "Matt Clarke Crowned 2019/20 Jack Stamps Player Of The Season". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  17. "Clarke makes Derby return". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  18. "Derby's reigning player of the season Clarke seals Rams return". Derby County F.C. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  19. Matthew Clarke at Soccerway
  20. Anderson, John, ed. (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 298–299. ISBN 978-1-4722-3397-4.
  21. Williams, Adam (31 March 2019). "Portsmouth 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  22. "Clarke Named Players' Player Of The Season". Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  23. "Clarke Named Player Of The Season". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
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