Portsmouth have confirmed that Town defender Matt Clarke has joined them on a youth loan until January 3rd. The 18-year-old has been with the League Two club for the last fortnight and has featured in their last three friendlies.
"I’m delighted to be here,” Clarke told Portsmouth’s official website. "I’ve already played a few games, so it’s great to have all the paperwork signed.
"I’ve enjoyed the matches that I’ve been involved in so far and have done alright, so now I want to improve from there.
"I spent a lot of time on the bench last season and just got a few minutes here and there, so I wanted to go out and hopefully get some more regular football.”
Town manager Mick McCarthy said at the weekend that Clarke would join Pompey today now that he'd added another defender, Danish international Jonas Knudsen, to his squad.
Previously, he said Barham-based Clarke needs to play senior games: "He’s a great kid and he’s a good player and he needs to play at a professional level.”
As the move is a youth loan rather than a regular half-season spell Town have been able to include a 24-hour recall clause, which is available after the first 28 days of the spell.
Former Claydon High School pupil Clarke made his senior debut for Town in last season’s Capital One Cup first round tie at Crawley Town - at left-back rather than in his usual central defensive role - and went on to make a further four sub appearances in the league.