Sunderland will need to work hard to keep their finest players, but Jack Clarke may be the most difficult. The Wearside club and its fans will be hoping that Regis Le Bris’ recent appointment as Michael Beale’s successor, four months after his dismissal, will have a beneficial domino effect for the club. According to the Northern Echo, Dan Neil declined new terms with the club in order to wait to see who was appointed as the next head coach. Teenager Chris Rigg, who is about to sign his first professional contract, is said to be in the same predicament as his fellow northeast-born teammate in this matter.
Neil’s current contract expires in 2026, thus Sunderland are not in imminent risk of losing him. However, the risk of losing Rigg is almost equal to that of losing Clarke. The mercurial winger, 23, has piqued the curiosity of a number of top-tier clubs over the last season or two, and here are the most recent developments. Crystal Palace looking at Clarke
The south London club is looking at the Sunderland player and his Leeds United counterpart Wilfried Gnonto as potential replacements for Michael Olise, who is likely to depart Palace to join Bayern Munich. This is according to HITC, who also stated that they have been closely monitoring Clarke, but that the Black Cats will not sell him for less than £20 million due to the significant sell-on clause included into his contract by Tottenham Hotspur when they traded him to Sunderland two years ago. Palace have had a lot of success buying from the second tier. Olise, Ebere Eze, and, most recently, Adam Wharton joined at Selhurst Park from Championship clubs.
West Ham’s “concrete” interests According to Football Insider, two different Hammers managers have loved Clarke’s appearance. They feel that West Ham’s interest in the 23-year-old is “concrete.” He first piqued the interest of former manager David Moyes, and the current manager, Julien Lopetgui, seemed to agree with his predecessor. West Ham, like the Eagles, are expected to look to recruit from the lower divisions this summer. The Guardian stated that they are interested in Callum O’Hare, a soon-to-be free agent, and Hull City’s Jacob Greaves. Clarke Appeals to Wolves
According to Football League World’s sister publication GIVEMESPORT, Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in Clarke, but will have to pay a high amount to acquire him. According to their sources, a proposal of around £25-30 million is necessary to move the winger out of the Stadium of Light. Furthermore, Wolves are reportedly unwilling to pay more than £20 million for him. According to GMS, Spurs’ sell-on clause for the 15-goal man is 25%. This summer, the Wolves fear losing talented wideman Pedro Neto. The Portuguese international, who is presently in Germany with his national side for the Euros, may be targeted by Arsenal, leaving an opening for Clarke to fill.
