Mitch Clark (footballer, born 1999)

Mitch Clark
Personal information
Full name Mitchell Clark[1]
Date of birth (1999-03-13) 13 March 1999[2]
Place of birth Nuneaton, England[3]
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Port Vale
(on loan from Aston Villa)
Number 23
Youth career
2006–2017 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Aston Villa 0 (0)
2018– → Port Vale (loan) 11 (0)
National team
2015–2016 Wales U17 6 (0)
2016–2017 Wales U19 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

Mitchell Clark (born 13 March 1999) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two side Port Vale, on loan from Championship club Aston Villa.

A Wales youth international at under-17 and under-19 level, he made his first-team debut for Aston Villa in August 2017. He joined Port Vale on loan for the 2018–19 season.

Club career

Clark graduated through the Academy at Aston Villa, having been scouted by the club playing for Bedworth Eagles juniors at the age of eight.[4] He made his first-team debut for the "Villans" in the EFL Cup on 22 August 2017, starting the match at left-back in a 4–1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Villa Park.[5] Manager Steve Bruce said that "he had a very good debut considering that he’s played out of position".[6] He was a part of the under-23 squad that finished as runners-up of the Premier League 2 Division Two and won the Premier League Cup during the 2017–18 season.[3] He signed a new contract in March 2018 to keep him at the club until 2019.[7][8]

On 16 August 2018, Clark joined League Two club Port Vale on loan for the rest of the 2018–19 season.[9] Manager Neil Aspin signed him to provide cover at full-back for James Gibbons and Cristian Montaño, after football advisor John Rudge had scouted him playing for the Aston Villa under-23 side.[10] He made his English Football League two days later, starting at left-back for the "Valiants" in a 1–0 win over Crawley Town at Vale Park.[11] He retained his first-team place as the "Valiants" went on a run of poor run of results, though Clark was noted as being one of their better performers.[12] He made a costly mistake to give away a goal during the opening minute of a 2–0 defeat at Grimsby Town on 6 October, but recovered from his mistake and kept his place in the team.[13]

International career

Clark represented the Wales under-17 team and went on to be named as captain of the under-19 side by manager Paul Bodin.[4]

Style of play

Clark is primarily a right-back, but is also able to play as a right-sided centre-back or at left-back.[4] He is a pacey player with high energy levels who likes to get forward and attack.[4]

Career statistics

As of matches played 9 October 2018.
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 2017–18[14] Championship 000010—10
2018–19[15] Championship 000000—00
Total 0000100010
Port Vale (loan) 2018–19[15] League Two 11000001[lower-alpha 1]0120
Career total 110001010130
  1. ↑ Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Aston Villa Academy

References

  1. ↑ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Aston Villa" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Mitchell Clark". 11v11. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mitch Clark at Soccerway
  4. 1 2 3 4 Turner, Andy (13 November 2017). "Mitch Clark's rise to Villa's senior squad: The story so far". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Aston Villa 4-1 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Evans, Gregg (25 August 2017). "Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce on what he likes about Mitch Clark". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Mitchell Clark signs Aston Villa deal, sends a message on Twitter | Sportslens". Sportslens.com. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Mitch Clark agrees new deal". www.avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Mitchell Clark: Aston Villa loan Wales Under-19 defender to Port Vale". BBC Sport. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (16 August 2018). "Port Vale sign Aston Villa defender Mitchell Clark on loan". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (19 August 2018). "Port Vale's Aston Villa loan defender Mitchell Clark relishing his chance". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (3 September 2018). "Aston Villa defender Mitch Clark thriving at Port Vale". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (11 October 2018). "Clark on Port Vale and hoping to be in new Aston Villa boss's long-term plans". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Games played by Mitch Clark in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Games played by Mitch Clark in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
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