Nigel Clough said this earlier:
“ We had just exercised the option in Ollie’s contract and an enquiry from Swindon came out of the blue. It was an opportunity which Ollie wanted to explore and will enable him to move back closer to home. He has a baby on the way, so all-in-all it’s a personal decision and a chance to play some more football.”
So in other words.
Clarke was not going to be first choice next season
Clarke was unlikely (at best) to be captain
Mansfield saw him as a good squad player with some intrinsic value
Mansfield exercised their option based on the above
Clarke realised the (above two lines) were as good as it would get
Swindon ‘out of nowhere’ made an offer for Clarke
I wonder who Clarke’s representatives are?
Clarke, taking all the above into consideration, plus his own personal circumstances and decides if I can get a decent offer from Swindon it makes sense to take that offer
Clarke then gets a two year deal instead of a one year deal at Mansfield
Clarke agent tells him that if he hangs on, he could get him more money at another northern based club
Clarke ends up at Swindon
If he stays fit and plays 40 games then then we should see the benefit. If he doesn’t well….
