I had to leave Liverpool, insists Clyne

BOURNEMOUTH loanee Nathaniel Clyne grew frustrated at Liverpool and felt he had to leave to revive his career after falling out of favour under manager Jurgen Klopp. After a long absence with a back injury and the rise to prominence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, 27-year-old Clyne played only three full games for Liverpool last year. ‘It is very frustrating. Knowing you are fit and you can play but constantly not getting selected for the team is disappointing,’ said Clyne. ‘I would rather just go out and find another club who can give me the opportunities to play. That is why I am here.’ The right back’s start at Bournemouth has been complicated. Cardiff manager Neil Warnock branded Liverpool a ‘disgrace’ and accused the club of a ‘lack of class’ after Bournemouth hijacked Cardiff’s agreed loan move for Clyne (below). Warnock said: ‘To see it on television when I’ve done everything right and they’ve promised he’s my player this week — for me, it’s a disgrace and just a lack of class. What I was disappointed in is having known Nathaniel — to not get a phone call from Nathaniel or from Liverpool, I thought that stank.’ Liverpool and Cardiff had an agreement but Clyne decided on Bournemouth after his new side lost right back Simon Francis to a serious injury. It is understood Liverpool informed Warnock before the move was announced but the Cardiff manager wanted to be made aware earlier. The evidence of this latest defeat — Bournemouth’s 10th in 13 games — suggests more defensive reinforcements may be required. They have conceded two or more goals on nine of those occasions but they did make nine changes for this tie, while Brighton made eight. The visitors went 2-0 up through Anthony Knockaert and Yves Bissouma. Marc Pugh halved the deficit only for Florin Andone to wrap up Brighton’s victory on 64 minutes. Clyne, for his part, did not even train with his new side before being thrown into the game. ‘I got the call and my agent said, “Get packed, you’re ready to go”. It was a nice five-hour drive down here! ‘I met the manager (Eddie Howe) at the stadium and the first thing he said was, “Are you ready to play?” ‘Bournemouth have a great manager. That’s what urged me to come here.’ Howe defended his call to spend £19million on Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke despite the player being out until February with a hamstring problem. Solanke scored only one goal and made just five Premier League starts for Liverpool after joining from Chelsea in the summer of 2017. Howe said: ‘You look at the bigger picture and judge his attributes.’