Former Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark is said to be on the verge of finding a new club.
The former Republic of Ireland international has been without a team since June when he was released by the Magpies at the end of his contract.
He spent last season on loan at Sheffield United and despite being promoted to the Premier League, the 33-year-old failed to strike a lasting deal after injury left him with just 11 appearances in the tournament.
Clark has been without a club all summer, but according to Alan Nixon, the centre-back is close to reaching an agreement with Stoke City. Although the transfer window closes on Friday, Clark’s free agent status allows him to be employed. Signed by Rafa Benitez in 2016 from Aston Vila, Clark was named the club’s Player of the Year in his first season after helping United return to the Premier League on his first try. He was still a regular in the starting lineup when Benitez and Steve Bruce were in charge, but quickly fell out of favor under Eddie Howe.
Clark was sent off after 10 minutes in the crucial bottom-of-table game against Norwich City and in a friendly against Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, which was his final appearance for The Magpies.
He was left out of Newcastle’s 25-man squad for the second half of the 2021-22 season before being loaned out to Bramall Lane last summer. Clark scored 11 goals in 129 appearances for Newcastle in 6 years
