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Matthew Clarke (footballer, born 1996)

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Matt Clarke
Personal information
Full name Matthew Edward Barkell Clarke[1]
Date of birth (1996-09-22) 22 September 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Barham, Suffolk, England[2]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 5
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)
2019–2022 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2019–2021 → Derby County (loan) 77 (1)
2021–2022 → West Bromwich Albion (loan) 33 (1)
2022– Middlesbrough 34 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:27, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Matthew Edward Barkell Clarke (born 22 September 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough.

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 1–0 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] Three days later, Clarke made his debut for Derby in their opening game of the season in a 2–1 away win against Huddersfield Town.[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] He made 42 appearances in his second season including in the last game as the team's safety was taken to the wire, ensuring their Championship status after a 3–3 home draw to Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.[19] Rotherham United's draw with Cardiff City meant Derby were safe with Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday relegated.[20]

West Bromwich Albion (loan)

On 13 July 2021, Clarke signed for West Bromwich Albion on loan for the 2021–22 season.[21] He made his debut on 14 August, starting and playing 84 minutes of the 3–2 home victory over Luton Town.[22] He helped keep a clean sheet four days later, playing the whole match of the 4–0 victory against Sheffield United at The Hawthorns.[23] He was named as the club's Player of the Season for 2021–22, his fourth successive such award across three clubs.[24][25][26][16] On 7 May, on Clarke's final appearance on loan at West Brom he scored his first and only goal for the club with a composed finish slipping the ball under Barnsley goalkeeper Jack Walton, in the 4–0 home victory as his team ended the campaign in 10th place.[27]

Middlesbrough

On 25 August 2022, Clarke joined Championship club Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.[28]

Career statistics

As of 1 October 2022[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ipswich Town 2014–15 Championship 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
Portsmouth (loan) 2015–16 League Two 29 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 33 1
Portsmouth 2016–17 League Two 33 1 1 0 0 0 2[a] 0 36 1
2017–18 League One 42 2 1 0 0 0 3[a] 1 46 3
2018–19 League One 46 3 5 0 1 0 8[b] 1 60 4
Total 150 7 9 0 3 0 13 2 175 9
Brighton & Hove Albion 2019–20 Premier League — — — — —
2020–21 Premier League — — — — —
2021–22 Premier League — — — — —
2022–23 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Derby County (loan) 2019–20 Championship 35 1 1 0 1 0 — 37 1
2020–21 Championship 42 0 0 0 2 0 — 44 0
Total 77 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 81 1
West Bromwich Albion (loan) 2021–22 Championship 33 1 0 0 0 0 — 33 1
Middlesbrough 2022–23 Championship 6 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 0
Career total 267 9 10 0 7 0 13 2 297 11
  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c "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. ^ "Derby 3-3 Sheffield Wednesday: Rams survive and consign Owls to League One - BBC Sport". 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Cardiff City 1-1 Rotherham United: Millers relegated after Marlon Pack equaliser - BBC Sport". 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Clarke joins Baggies". Brighton & Hove Albion. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  22. ^ "West Bromwich Albion 3-2 Luton Town: Ismael's Baggies hold out against Hatters - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  23. ^ "West Bromwich Albion v Sheffield United - BBC Sport - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  24. ^ a b Drury, Jonny (6 May 2022). "Matt Clarke and Karlan Grant among West Brom end of season award winners". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Clarke Named Player Of The Season". Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  26. ^ a b c "Clarke Named Players' Player Of The Season". Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  27. ^ "West Bromwich Albion 4-0 Barnsley: Karlan Grant scores double as Baggies thrash Tykes - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Middlesbrough sign Brighton defender Clarke". BBC Sport. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  29. ^ Matthew Clarke at Soccerway
  30. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2017). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2017–2018. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 298–299. ISBN 978-1-4722-3397-4.
  31. ^ Williams, Adam (31 March 2019). "Portsmouth 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Match report: Checkatrade Trophy Final". 31 March 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  33. ^ "PFA League One Team Of The Year". 24 April 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
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