Matthew Edward Barkell Clarke (born 22 September 1996) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. Clarke started his career at Ipswich Town, before joining

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

initially on loan in 2015, making the move permanent in 2016. In 2019, Clarke joined

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, but failed to make an apperenace, he two loan spells at

in the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons and one at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in 2021–22. Clarke joined

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on a permanent deal in August 2022, before rejoining

in January 2025.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Born in

Barham, Suffolk Barham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The village is on the River Gipping. Surrounded by Great Blakenham, Baylham, Coddenham, Henley, Suffolk, Henley and Claydon, Suffolk, Claydon, Barham is on t ...

, 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 the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

in a 1–0

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

away loss against

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

. On 11 September he signed a two-year professional deal with the club.

Portsmouth

In July 2015, Clarke went on a trial at

, signing a six-month loan deal with the club on 3 August. 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. Despite suffering an injury at the end of the 2015–16 campaign which ruled him out of the opening weeks of the new campaign, 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 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, letting in just 40 goals in 46 matches. On 14 February 2018, after remaining a regular starter, Clarke extended his contract until 2020. Clarke was in the winning squad for Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy Final on 31 March 2019.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 21 June 2019, Clarke's departure from Portsmouth was announced, with the centre-back signing a four-year deal at

for an undisclosed fee.

Derby County (loans)

On 2 August 2019, Clarke joined

on a season-long loan. 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 Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Hull City on 18 January 2020. He made 37 appearances for Derby during the 2019–20 season, with his performances earning him the Derby County Player of the Year award. On 26 August, it was revealed that Clarke would return to Derby on a further season-long loan deal for the 2020–21 season. 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 Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

on the final day of the season.

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

's draw with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

meant Derby were safe with Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday relegated.

West Bromwich Albion (loan)

On 13 July 2021, Clarke signed for

on loan for the 2021–22 season. He made his debut on 14 August, starting and playing 84 minutes of the 3–2 home victory over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He helped keep a clean sheet four days later, playing the whole match of the 4–0 victory against Sheffield United at

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F.C. ...

. He was named as the club's Player of the Season for 2021–22, his fourth successive such award across three clubs. 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 Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

goalkeeper Jack Walton, in the 4–0 home victory as his team ended the campaign in 10th place.

Middlesbrough

On 25 August 2022, Clarke joined Championship club

for an undisclosed fee. In two-and-a-half years at the club, Clarke made 51 appearances, scoring three times.

Derby County

On 28 January 2025, Clarke rejoined Derby County on a deal until June 2025 after an undisclosed fee was agreed with Middlesbrough. Clarke scored his first Derby goal since resigning for the club in a 2–0 home victory against Coventry City. Under new head coach John Eustace, Clarke impressed with his performance in a central defensive trio alongside Sondre Langås and Nat Phillips as Derby managed to escape relegation to League One, Clarke played 16 times for Derby during 2024–25 season and on 15 May 2025, Clake signed a three-year contract extension with Derby; extending his stay at Pride Park until June 2028.

Career statistics

Honours

Portsmouth *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

: 2016–17 *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

: 2018–19 Individual *

Player's Player of the Season: 2017–18 *Portsmouth Player of the Season: 2017–18, 2018–19 * 2018–19 EFL Trophy Final Man of The Match:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2018–19 League One * Derby County Player of the Year: 2019–20 * West Bromwich Albion Player of the Year: 2021–22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Matthew 1996 births Living people People from Barham, Suffolk English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Ipswich Town F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Derby County F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players Middlesbrough F.C. players Footballers from Suffolk 21st-century English sportsmen