Opinion: Missing out on Clarke is not a blow for Celtic

Celtic are poised to miss out on a deal to sign Tottenham winger Jack Clarke as he closes in on a move to QPR.

According to Sky Sports, Clarke is set to sign for QPR on loan until the end of the season, with the winger keen to join the London-based club.

The Hoops have been linked, by Football Insider, with the forward as they look to bolster their squad before the end of the window.

Clarke spent the first-half of the season on loan to Leeds but was recalled by Tottenham earlier this month, with the winger now set to return to the second tier of English football with QPR.

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Clarke managed just 19 minutes in the Championship for Leeds this season, so it is hard to judge whether or not he would have been a good signing for Celtic. Last season, however, he played 24 league matches for Leeds and recorded a WhoScored rating of 6.50, producing two goals and two assists. That would currently place him 17th in the Celtic squad this season and the lowest-rated wide midfielder.

This suggests that he would not have been an improvement on Celtic’s current options out wide for the second-half of the season. Therefore, Celtic may not have much to worry about in regards to losing out to QPR in the race for his signature, as the statistics suggest that he would not have made much of an impact in Neil Lennon’s squad.

Whilst he is a quick winger who looks to get to the byline and get balls into the box, he is still very raw and inexperienced, which is perhaps why his ratings and statistics are so low. Over time he may improve, but a six-month loan is short-term, rather than long-term.