HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Jack Clarke of Sunderland during the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and Sunderland at John Smith's Stadium on February 14, 2024 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Carlton Palmer has praised Jack Clarke’s current Sunderland stance following an update given to supporters on the winger ahead of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
The winger was among the most impressive performers in the second-tier last season and scored 15 times for Sunderland, who recorded a disappointing 16th-placed finish.
Clarke has been the subject of extensive transfer speculation, with Southampton, West Ham United and Italian outfit Lazio all having been credited with reported interest in the 23-year-old over the last few months.
However, the ex-Tottenhan man appears to be focusing on the task at hand with Sunderland next season, which will be to regain full fitness after spending close to two months on the sidelines with injury towards the back-end of last term, and thus helping the Mackems to push towards the play-offs under new manager Regis Le Bris.
Jack Clarke’s positive Sunderland admission ahead of 2024/25
Speaking to the Northern Echo, Clarke said: “In a sense [last season was good] but I still feel like I could have brought a lot more. I’ll try to bring a lot more as the season unfolds.
“There was still a lot of chances I missed and still a lot more I could have done, hopefully I’ll bring that this season.
“Thankfully for me the break came at a good time to give my injury a rest and time to heal. Like everyone else, I’m still trying to get up to match speed and fitness and dust off the cobwebs. Hopefully by the time the season starts I’ll be back at my best.”
Sunderland supporters will rightly be curious and excited about Clarke’s admission to still having plenty to offer given how impressive he’s been over the last two years at the Stadium of Light. They’ll be equally glad to hear that he should be fully fit and ready to begin firing on all cylinders once again next month.
However, the real discussion point is his focus on the upcoming season with Sunderland, which may serve to allay fears of a departure in the coming weeks.
Carlton Palmer reacts to Jack Clarke’s Sunderland message
Whilst speaking exclusively to FLW, Carlton Palmer views Clarke’s revelation as an overwhelming positive for everyone associated with Sunderland, who would do extremely well to retain him beyond the summer window.
“Jack Clarke expects to be back to full fitness and firing for the start of the season for Sunderland,” Palmer said when speaking to Football League World.
“He’s said he’s only focused on getting fit and starting the season with Sunderland despite speculation that there are going to be more offers coming in for him.
| Jack Clarke’s 23/24 Championship stats for Sunderland, as per FBRef | ||
| Statistic | Return per 90 minutes | Percentile rank against Championship wingers |
| Goals | 0.39 | 98th |
| xG | 0.25 | 95th |
| Goals + Assists | 0.49 | 94th |
| Shot-creating actions | 5.41 | 99th |
| xA | 0.25 | 96th |
| Key passes | 2.34 | 93rd |
| Passes into penalty area | 1.70 | 90th |
| Attempted take-ons | 7.11 | 99th |
| Successful take-ons | 3.81 | 99th |
| Carries into penalty area | 3.53 | 99th |
“He scored 15 goals last season and was by far Sunderland’s standout performer, he picked up the injury and he’s managed to get through the end of the season but he’s said his ankle’s fine, he’s not quite up to speed and he’s looking forward to improving again this season, which is brilliant for Sunderland and great news.
“We know that all the clubs have been interested and they’ve fought off bids in the January transfer window, they had a bid from Burnley turned down believed to be in excess of £10m [last summer].
“He’s great, at the end of the day his job is to get his head down and play football. If somebody makes an offer for him and the club accepts the offer then fine.
“He loves Sunderland, he wants to stay there and if an offer comes in for him that the club accept, then he can move on to a Premier League club and go from there, but all he’s done is focusing which is good news for Sunderland and good news for the supporters.
“Don’t be surprised if there are one or two offers that come in for him but Sunderland have made it clear, they were very tough with their stance in January, if they don’t get the amount of money they want for the player then he won’t be going.”
Jack Clarke retention would be Sunderland’s finest summer business
The 2023/24 season exposed Sunderland’s frailties and displayed the importance of bolstering the squad across the current window, with a seasoned centre-forward a sorely-felt absence in particular.
Le Bris will also be keen to take the squad in his direction and bring his own signings in, the success of which will prove crucial to any ambitions Sunderland have of plotting an ambitious Premier League return in 2025.
They can bring in whoever, though, and it wouldn’t represent better business than keeping Clarke at the club.
The former Tottenham Hotspur prospect still has two years to run on his present deal on Wearside, which means Sunderland shouldn’t be in any rush to sell just yet and have the license to continue their hardball stance when it comes to receiving offers for Clarke.
The expiry date will decrease to just a year once the season concludes and that’s a risk, of course, but the reward could be greater if the forward ends up firing Sunderland back to the big time, increasing their chances of successful contractual retention tenfold.
