Derby County completed the signing of experienced centre-back Matt Clarke in January 2025.

The defender returned to Pride Park Stadium from Middlesbrough on a permanent deal until the end of the 2024/25 season after the club came to an undisclosed agreement with their Sky Bet Championship rivals – entering his third spell in DE24.

Clarke made 16 outings and played a vital role in staving off relegation in the Sky Bet Championship, and his impressive displays saw him extend his deal with the Rams ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

He was once more peerless for John Eustace’s side, sweeping the board as the Jack Stamps Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and the Derby County Supporters’ Club Player of the Season after making 45 appearances, scoring three goals and providing four assists from the heart of defence in the second tier.

Clarke, who spent the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons with the Rams on loan from Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion - won the Jack Stamps Player of the Season award in the former campaign. He made 81 appearances in black and white in total across the two loan spells.

After returning to Derby last season, he impressed once again with the Ram on his chest, putting in 16 appearances as the Rams won six and drew three of their last 10 matches to secure their place in the Sky Bet Championship under the tutelage of Head Coach John Eustace.

Born in Suffolk, Clarke graduated from Ipswich Town’s academy and made four first-team appearances after making his breakthrough to the first-team squad during the 2014/15 season.

The following year, he joined Portsmouth on loan for the 2015/16 campaign, and he impressed sufficiently throughout his 33 appearances in all competitions to earn a permanent move in the summer of 2016.

He spent the next three years at Fratton Park, winning promotion from League Two in 2017 and the EFL Trophy in 2019, when he played the full 120 minutes at Wembley Stadium as Pompey overcame Sunderland on penalties.

Clarke’s form in League One attracted attention from the Premier League and he signed a four-year deal with Brighton and Hove Albion in June 2019, before making the switch to Pride Park on loan before the 2019/20 campaign got underway.

The centre-back made his debut in a 2-1 away win at Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season and went on to make 38 league appearances as he won the club’s Jack Stamps Player of the Season award.

He returned to Derby for a second season-long loan for the following campaign and he missed only three league games as the Rams maintained their Championship status on the final day.

One final loan move followed as he linked up with West Bromwich Albion for 2021/22 in the Championship once more, where he was again a regular, before joining Middlesbrough on a permanent deal in August 2022 and made 51 appearances in total ahead of his return to Derby.