It’s snowing in Aberdeen and already Leighton Clarkson has adjusted to the harsher Scottish winters.
Plans to take up golf may have been put on hold —“I need lessons first when it’s a bit warmer,” he laughs — but wrapped up and on his travels around the city, Clarkson has become a popular figure since his summer move from Liverpool.
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Away from a busy training and match schedule, Clarkson likes to get out on the streets and learn more about his new surroundings. The love for football in Scotland, a place he had rarely considered visiting let alone living in, has surprised him. “They’re football mad here,” he says.
So whether it’s posing for selfies with supporters when out shopping or listening to words of wisdom from members of Aberdeen’s 1982-83 European Cup Winners’ Cup team – the city’s most renowned sporting sons – every day feels like an education.
“When I was here on loan last season, I spoke to some of the Gothenburg Greats (as that side are known) and it helped me get a feel of how big the club actually is,” Clarkson says. “I’m learning a lot. At the training ground, there are quotes from that game against Real Madrid (Aberdeen won 2-1 in the Swedish city of Gothenburg after extra time). It’s inspiring.”
Although this season’s adventure in Europe didn’t quite go as well as hoped — it came to a close with Thursday’s 2-0 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt, where Clarkson was an unused substitute, in the final group match — a lot has been learnt from a Europa Conference League campaign in which Aberdeen’s six points and third-place finish in Group G didn’t quite reflect their competitiveness. As Clarkson points out: “We were close in every game but not quite good enough.”
It was fun, though, both on and off the field.
Supporters launched snowballs at the HJK Helsinki goalkeeper during the away trip in Finland, forcing the tie to be halted until the misbehaving stopped — and for tractors to sweep the snow off the pitch. Witnessing the hostile and intimidating atmosphere at Greek side PAOK was also an experience, as was the difficult task away in Germany against a side that won the 2021-22 Europa League final and then made the Champions League knockout phase last season.
The referee stops the game in Helsinki ⛔️
Reason: Aberdeen fans throwing snowballs at the HJK goalkeeper… 😅pic.twitter.com/Kj1NP9zCI6
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2023
“The noise at PAOK was incredible,” Clarkson says. “You literally couldn’t hear anything from the players on the pitch. It was the same in Frankfurt. Playing in Europe was part of the reason I joined Aberdeen, to visit new places, to play against a different standard of player, and to enjoy the experience.
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“You can see how much the supporters get up for the European games and when we’re at home, it’s a bit like Anfield in the way that it’s a more special occasion.
“What I also like about Scottish football is that each fanbase has its own set of ultras and that helps create an atmosphere for the really big games.”
With that in mind, Clarkson knows the League Cup final against Rangers at historic Hampden Park in Glasgow on Sunday takes on extra significance. After a recent run of one win in seven games in the Scottish Premiership — and a trophy drought going back 10 years — the chance to create a bit of history is motivating Clarkson, who had identified the move to Aberdeen as the ideal opportunity to kickstart his career.
Breaking away from Liverpool, who he joined at age six after being scouted while playing for nearby Lancashire grassroots club Clitheroe Wolves, and starting a new journey was important for Clarkson this season.
He spent years watching Anfield recruit elite midfielders — from the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to more recent arrivals such as Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai — which, while offering a precious opportunity to learn from such quality players, also severely limited his opportunities for game time.
Three first-team appearances, including a full outing away to Danish side Midtjylland in the Champions League three years ago, were special, but Clarkson wanted more. It’s why he was ready for a clean break but still keen to draw upon his time at Anfield to help his future.
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“Being in that elite environment helps you set high standards,” he says. “Some players struggle when they leave, but it’s about learning. I used to see Mo Salah and Sadio Mane banging weights in the gym in between training sessions, or sometimes two hours before training. I was just like, ‘Wow’. They were totally dedicated to the profession and as a young player coming through, you have to learn from that.
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“There were also so many staff. They would take you through your core work, your gym work, your recovery – everything. When we had pre-match meals, we had actual chefs cooking the food in front of us. It was elite at every level, so when you move on, you have to adapt but remember what helped make some of the players there the best in the world.”
One individual who sticks out from those days is Spanish midfielder Thiago. “He was ridiculous,” Clarkson says. “I’ve never seen a player move after a turn so quickly. And you can’t tackle him. Nobody can. Playing on a pitch with him was amazing. His technical ability is the best I’ve ever seen.
“When he signed (from Bayern Munich in 2020’s summer window), though, I knew I needed to go and start playing games because I wasn’t getting a chance. I was travelling with the squad to games but never getting on. When you go up to the first team, for the first few months you’re ecstatic to be involved and training with all the first-team players, but then it becomes hard when you watch every game from the side.”
Clarkson spent the first half of the 2021-22 season on loan to Blackburn Rovers in the English Championship, then all of last season with Aberdeen. He had multiple options to consider over the summer but opted for the move back to Aberdeen after settling in the area and enjoying his time under Barry Robson, who took over as manager in January after Jim Goodwin was sacked.
It helped that he is far from the first Liverpool player to be schooled in Scotland.
Calvin Ramsay, the talented but currently injured 20-year-old right-back, moved from Aberdeen to Liverpool in summer 2022 and 18-year-old Ben Doak, the winger who has featured for Jurgen Klopp’s first team this year, joined from Celtic earlier that year. Clarkson has watched the likes of Morgan Boyes (Livingston, now on loan at Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Jack Bearne (Greenock Morton) and Rhys Williams (who he used to share digs with and is now a team-mate again on loan to Aberdeen) all move out of Liverpool’s academy into Scottish football.
“If the option to go on loan to Scotland comes up, then not every player at a Premier League club wants to do it, but it wasn’t until I came up here that I started to understand how big football is here and what a great environment it is,” Clarkson says. “There’s so much banter going on between the different sets of supporters, which I love.”
Clarkson’s best mate, Owen Beck, who he has known since the age of 15 and was part of a house-sharing group alongside Conor Bradley and Neco Williams (now at Nottingham Forest), also joined Dundee on loan this summer.
Aberdeen’s busy schedule at home and abroad hasn’t allowed them to meet up for a proper night out yet, but Beck and his pet dog have stayed over at Clarkson’s place as the pair caught up recently: “He asked me about Scotland before he moved and I couldn’t speak highly enough of it. I told him to join, to go and play every week and enjoy it and be the best player. That’s how he can get noticed and make people talk about him.”
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The pair are set to be opponents next Saturday when Aberdeen make the short journey south to Dundee. “It’s already been discussed,” Clarkson laughs — but first, there’s that League Cup final to focus on.
Clarkson is finding his form having scored a stoppage-time winner at home against Hearts last weekend – his first Premiership goal of the season.
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“We know we can hurt teams and while we respect Rangers, we’ve got nothing to fear,” he says, with Aberdeen ahead against the Ibrox side at Pittodrie in the league three weeks ago before conceding a stoppage-time penalty to draw 1-1. “We want to represent ourselves well. Last year we fought so hard to get into Europe and we want that again.”
(Top photo: Peter Summers/Getty Images)