Fratton Faithful talk Matt Clarke

Graham Potter’s first signing as Brighton and Hove Albion manager comes in the form of defender Matt Clarke, bought for £3.5m from Portsmouth.

The arrival of Clarke has raised more than a few eyebrows. Some supporters have questioned why we are signing players from League One while others want to know what a fifth senior centre back is going to add to the squad.

Those are just questions. Purchasing Clarke may also offer an insight into what Potter is planning to do tactics and playing style wise at Brighton, given that he is said to have been an admirer of the defender for long before he was appointed Albion boss.

In order to try and answer some of these questions and to find out what Clarke is going to bring to the party, we spoke to Jim Bonner from Pompey fan site Fratton Faithful to get the lowdown on the Albion’s newest recruit.

What sort of player is Matt Clarke? We’ve been told that new Albion boss Graham Potter is going to want defenders who can play out from the back. Does he fit that mould?
Matt is an excellent defender who is dominant in the air and more than comfortable with the ball at his feet. He made a mockery of League One players with his signature runs down the pitch with nobody able to challenge him and he is far too good for the third tier of English football. He absolutely fits the mould of a defender who can play from the back.

What would you say are Clarke’s best attributes?
He’s dominant in the air and can also pose a threat from set-pieces as well as score the occasional goal with his feet. He’s a superb tackler but can also do the basics well when required.

Where did he fit in formation wise? Can he play anywhere other than as a centre back?
No, Clarke is a centre back only. I don’t believe he’d be anywhere near as effective if played out of position.

Clarke’s played through some pretty good times for Pompey – promotion from League Two, winning the Paint Pot at Wembley. How big a part of it has he been?
Massive. He was comfortably Pompey’s player of the season for the last two years and an integral part of our League Two winning side. We knew if we failed to win promotion this season then he was going to leave and we don’t begrudge him a move to a Premier League side.

We’ve been told he was made Pompey captain at a young age. How did he get on with that responsibility and what are his leadership skills like?
That’s not necessarily true. He has had the armband in absence of a few other players but he’s probably too young and too softly spoken to be a real leader on the pitch at the moment. Pompey haven’t had a natural leader on the pitch for the last two seasons and that has been costly.

We’ve got a pretty solid defensive unit in Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy? Do you think Clarke is good enough to displace one of them?
Maybe not immediately but if rumours are true then it seems like Dunk and/or Duffy are going to move on in the near future. I would expect Clarke to take his chance if it was presented to him and all of us at Pompey will be interested to see how he performs at the highest level.

How far do you think he can go in the game? And is £3.5m rising £5m a fair price for his services?
We think you’ve got a bargain given the going rate for young English players. If Harry Maguire is worth £80 million then £5 million is a snip for Clarke. He’s capable of playing even higher if he continues to develop at the rate he has. That would be fantastic news for us due to the sizeable sell-on fee should one of England’s elite clubs stump up a huge amount of cash for him in the future.

Thanks to Jim for answering our questions – it sounds like we may have quite a player on our hands. You can keep on eye on whether Pompey have any other decent young talents we can purchase by following Fratton Faithful on Twitter.