Like his current employers Sunderland, who will do well to ward off interest for his services in the forthcoming January transfer window, Jack Clarke has been one of the Championship’s brightest lights over the past season and a quarter.
Jack Clarke’s newfound success in the Northeast will make his previous employers a little jealous.
Tony Mowbray’s team has begun the season with the same level of success as their first season in the second division since 2018. The youthful, expressive, and expressive 59-year-old Clarke is at the forefront of this team, which, as of the November international break, is currently holding the final play-off spot.
Despite many Championship fans realizing Clarke’s talent from his early Leeds United days, his career has not been an easy one.
But the winger’s form, which has given his current employers enormous bargaining power, will have two divisional rivals of the Black Cats watching on in envy.
Following his breakout season at Elland Road in 2018–19, Clarke signed a £10 million contract to join Tottenham Hotspur.
But the now 24-year-old’s circumstances in North London and many loan stints didn’t work out.
Clarke was sent on loan to QPR, managed by Mark Warburton, following an unsuccessful loan stint back at Leeds.
Nevertheless, the winger would only manage one goal in six games in West London prior to receiving another loan assignment from then-Spurs manager José Mourinho.
He would get the opportunity to play and build confidence by joining Michael O’Neill’s Stoke team, who were sitting in the middle of the table at the time.
Clarke only managed to record two assists in 14 appearances before suffering a season-ending injury in April 2021.
Both Warburton and O’Neill have proven to be adept talent spotters throughout their managerial careers, but this one ultimately went unnoticed. It raises the question of whether, had he continued in that vein, he could still be a player for QPR or Stoke, given the odds against him succeeding at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Given the excellent start to the season Clarke has had, it is likely that the valuation that Sunderland’s hierarchy thought worthy of accepting would have climbed tenfold after Sunderland rejected multiple proposals from Burnley, including one that was estimated to be worth £10 million, according to TeamTalk.
According to Northern Echo reports, Sunderland would only contemplate selling if their worth exceeded £20 million. Mowbray will likely want to see a large amount of any sanction go back into the playing team in order to keep them in the running for the play-offs.
Clarke has played in 87 games since going to the Stadium of Light and has 21 goals and 19 assists. Nine goals and one assist have come in the first sixteen games of the current season.
Additional underlying data highlights his strong form with players like Jobe Bellingham, such as the fact that he’s outperforming his xG by 2.7. In addition, according to Fbref, his dynamism has resulted in an average of 2.81 successful take-ons and 6.22 carries per 90 minutes.
Leave a Reply