Leighton Clarkson used to share a house with new Liverpool sensation Stefan Bajcetic. Now he hopes a successful loan stint at Aberdeen will see him move in with Bajcetic again as part of the Reds' first-team squad next season.
The Spanish Under-21 ace has become a fixture in Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield engine room in recent weeks. And Clarkson admits seeing the 18-year-old make his mark gives him and all the other academy stars hope at Liverpool. He said: “Stefan was two or three years below me. I remember when they first signed him, he was in my house-parents with me.
“We were quite close there. There were always a few boys living in the house. At first he was shy and didn’t know a lot of English. But he’s settled in very well. Over the last few years he’s obviously learned a lot. You listen to his interviews and he sounds a bit Scouse now!
“He has done really well for himself. He’s taken his opportunity. I’m happy for him. He’s a good player.”
Clarkson, who was born in Blackburn, has been in digs since he was 11, which helped him cope with his move north to Aberdeen. And he joked that his biggest challenge hasn’t been football but mastering the washing machine!
The young midfielder said: “I was living away from the age of 11. It can prepare you for a football career. It was a decision I had to make when I was young. Living away for the first year was tough. But the minute you get to grips with it you are fine.
“The first two years I was on my own. Then I moved to be with mates and that makes things easier. It helps you then for what comes after.
“I realise that by being in Aberdeen now on my own. It’s that time away from your family I now know I can deal with. It’s just been all the other bits – like the cleaning and cooking and all of that.”
The young playmaker has been a key man for the Dons this term, despite the man who signed him losing his job. It has gone from Jim Goodwin to interim boss Barry Robson and Clarkson wants to end his spell on a high by sealing a Euro slot.
He said: “It’s been a very beneficial experience for me. I came here to play football and I’ve done that. But meeting new people, a different culture, a different league — all that is part of my experience and which will benefit me for years to come.
“As Jim (Goodwin) has gone another manager has come in with Barry. I’ve wanted to show both of them why I feel I should be playing and try and get as much out of them and learn as much as possible from them as I can do.”
Robson has now changed Clarkson’s position slightly and that has brought more expectation. He added: “Yes, he has put his ideas across. All the lads are fitting into it and enjoying working on the training ground on the new ideas. He’s put me in a position I have known right through my Liverpool career. I have always been that deep-lying midfielder who tries to control games.
“He sees me as that and he wants the team to have more control over games – that is his way of playing. The first half of the season I was more attacking and that was a new role. But I am in the position now that I know really well.”
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