Josh Clarke

Josh Clarke (born 28 July 2004) is a professional footballer currently playing as a goalkeeper for Ayr United, on loan from Celtic. Born in England, he is a former youth international for Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, before opting to play for Northern Ireland in 2021.

Clarke was born in London to a Swedish mother, and would visit his maternal grandparents in Skåne County as a child. He attended the St John's School in Leatherhead.

As well as playing football, Clarke was enrolled in the elite academy of professional rugby club Harlequins, and represented Surrey County in cricket.

Early career

Having grown up living near Premier League side Chelsea's Cobham Training Centre, Clarke joined the academy of The Blues in 2011. During his time in the academy, he won a Goalkeeper of the Tournament award at the Kevin de Bruyne Cup in 2019, as Chelsea went on to win the youth competition. After leaving Chelsea ahead of the 2020–21 season, Clarke trained with Portuguese side Porto, and was reportedly scouted by Turkish side Beşiktaş.

He had been approached by Bournemouth since January 2020, and he joined the club in July 2020. In December of the same year, he played the first sixty minutes in a friendly against the under-18 side of Millwall, before being replaced by under-16 goalkeeper Ollie Camis. However, just fifteen minutes later, Bournemouth went down to ten men due to injuries, and Clarke was substituted back on to play as a makeshift striker - going on to score an equalising goal in the eventual 1–1 draw. He trained with the first team during his time at the club, and was the backup goalkeeper for an FA Cup fixture against Oldham Athletic in January 2021.

Glenavon

On 8 April 2022, Northern Irish club Glenavon announced the signing of Clarke. He had been brought in on a short-term, emergency deal, following the departure of Declan Brown and the suspension of James Taylor. He made his debut a day after signing, in a NIFL Premiership game against Ballymena United on 9 April, and after Glenavon defender Danny Wallace was sent off for a foul inside the penalty area, Clarke saved the resulting penalty from Leroy Millar as Glenavon went on to win 3–1. He went on to make five further appearances, including Glenavon's 2–0 away loss to Glentoran in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs, in which he made a number of saves, before his contract with the club expired. Clarke received the supporters' Player of the Month Award in April 2022.

Celtic

Clarke moved to Scotland to join Celtic, signing a two-year deal in August 2022 and being assigned to the club's B Team. He notably saved four penalties in Celtic B's penalty shoot-out win against Rangers B in the final of the Glasgow Cup, garnering national coverage for his performance.

Loan to Airdrieonians

On 5 August 2023, Clarke was sent on a one-game emergency loan to Scottish Championship side Airdrieonians, following the absences of first-choice goalkeeper Josh Rae and player-goalkeeper coach David Hutton. He made his debut the same day, as Airdrieonians lost 2–1 to Dunfermline Athletic, before returning to Celtic.

Loan to Ayr United

On 24 February 2024, Ayr United announced that they had signed Clarke on a loan deal from Celtic until the end of the season. He made his debut the same day, playing ninety minutes as Ayr United lost 2–1 at home to Raith Rovers in the Scottish Championship.

Clarke is eligible to represent England, Sweden, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level. In 2019, he played for Sweden's under-16 team in two friendly matches against Norway and Finland.

In late 2020, Clarke was called up for an England youth training camp at St George's Park. In March of the following year, he featured in a hybrid friendly for the England under-17 team, coming on as a first-half substitute for James Beadle in a 2–1 win over the under-23 side of Watford. In August 2021, he featured in a 2–0 friendly win over Hungary for the Republic of Ireland under-18 side.

In September 2021, he was selected to represent Northern Ireland at under-19 level in two 1–0 friendly wins against the Faroe Islands. He received his second call-up for Northern Ireland in their 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification campaign, featuring in all three games as they failed to achieve qualification. He was called up again in March 2023, ahead of Northern Ireland's games in the elite round of 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification.

In March 2022, Clarke was called up to the senior Northern Irish team for the first time at the age of seventeen, but remained on the bench as Northern Ireland beat Luxembourg 3–1 in a friendly. He was called up again in May of the same year, ahead of UEFA Nations League fixtures the following month against Greece, Cyprus and Kosovo, but again did not feature.

As of 24 February 2024.

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