West Ham United have received a surprising boost in their pursuit of Sunderland winger Jack Clarke. The 23-year-old has 13 goals and three assists in 29 Championship appearances this season, and his performance has sparked serious transfer interest from the Premier League. FootballTransfers understands that West Ham and Crystal Palace are both interested in signing him as striker reinforcements for 2024.
Clarke’s prospective arrival at the London Stadium might push Lucas Paqueta back inside to his more natural centre midfield position, while the Englishman would take Wilfried Zaha’s spot at Selhurst Park following the Ivorian’s summer departure to Galatasaray. However, West Ham and Crystal Palace aren’t the only clubs interested in signing Clarke; Fabrizio Romano has stated that an undisclosed Serie A club has had a bid rejected for the Sunderland winger. The transfer analyst told X that Sunderland does not intend to sell Jack Clarke during the January transfer window.
“A formal request from Italy for a €16 million package was rejected yesterday. “The price in the summer is expected to be around €30 million…” “But #SAFC intends to keep Clarke if they are promoted.” Why should West Ham sign Sunderland’s Jack Clarke? Sunderland are not under any imminent pressure to let Clarke go because he is under contract at the Stadium of Light until 2026. However, West Ham should strive to sign him in 2024, despite stiff competition for his services.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United winger has 13 goals and three assists in 29 Championship appearances in 2023-24, and he is presently Sunderland’s highest goal scorer across all competitions. The 23-year-old has stepped up since the end of Amad Diallo’s loan spell at Sunderland and has been the club’s best performance this season. Crucially, he would be an improvement over Said Benrahma, who has been poor since joining from Brentford and has been linked with a January exit. West Ham need attacking reinforcements due to Michail Antonio’s fitness difficulties and Benrahma’s potential exit, and Clarke fits the bill wonderfully.
Furthermore, the Hammers have had great success buying from the Championship in recent years, as evidenced by the signing of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City, and Clarke might be the next to follow suit. Learn more about Serie A, Premier League, Sunderland, West Ham United, and Jack Clarke.
