So tell me how he is competition for Lia and Manny who are defensive midfielders when he plays an attacking midfield role, the very same one occupied by Carlos and also Rufer (and we could probably throw in Ifill as well if we needed to)?
The point seems to be lost on you that we need DEFENSIVE midfielders, not ATTACKING midfilders (of which, we have plenty of players in the front 3rd already). Clapham is not a DEFENSIVE midfielder.
Attacking minded footballers can still play as defensive/holding midfielders. I've seen a decent amount of criticism on these forums about the inability of Muscat and Lia to help maintain possession as well as the transition of the ball from the defensive unit to the attacking unit. In my opinion, Clapham certainly has the ability to do this from the times I've seen him play in a deeper role. Playing as a defensive/holding midfielder is not just about tackling, intercepting and shielding the back four ... you also play a huge role in a side actually being able to control the game and the tempo that it is played at. Clapham isn't a like for like replacement for Muscat or Lia, but he would provide competition as his skill set would give us something that Muscat and Lia cannot.