Jack Clarke’s incredible performances have been put under the microscope this term and he now tops the Championship for another statistic.
Sunderland may have brought three players in during the January transfer window, but their most successful piece of business was keeping Jack Clarke.
Michael Beale knew that keeping the 23-year-old would determine whether their playoff hopes would be strengthened or diminished.
There are only a few players who can have such an impact on a team, but Clarke – who has plundered 13 goals and supplied four assists this term – is certainly one of those.
In the absence of a clinical goal scorer, the Leeds United academy graduate has stepped up and is delivering on the potential that his formative years promised.
Sunderland are that reliant on their star man, it’s scary to think where they would be without him.
The Englishman has been involved in six of the last nine goals they’ve scored and the only match he hasn’t scored or assisted in the last seven was in a 1-0 defeat against Hull City.
Aside from dominating the headlines for his club, he’s now dominating the rest of the Championship for another statistic.
Jack Clarke has most carries into the area in the Championship
As soon as he picks up the ball, Clarke’s first thought is to run at his man and commit backtracking defenders into the penalty area.
He’s so quick and direct with the ball at his feet, that defenders find it a nightmare to stop him.
It’s a part of his game that makes him a joy to watch above any other player in the second tier and he’s now been hailed as “remarkable” by journalist Michael Graham for not only topping the Championship with 141 carries into the penalty area, but also for how he ranks against Europe’s elite.
Tottenham (221) and Manchester City (205) are the only two clubs in Europe’s top five leagues to have accumulated 200+ carries into the penalty area, as per Statman Dave, so the fact that Clarke has produced 141 on his own is highly impressive.
He’s in a league of his own when it comes to the rest of the second tier as Stephy Mavididi’s 71 carries rank him second on that list while it’s more than half of Sunderland’s Championship-leading total (274).
The outrageous numbers that Clarke is producing make it almost improbable that he departs in the summer unless Sunderland get promoted to the Premier League.
Read also; See him squirming’ – Pundit issues Rangers v Ayr United & Scott Brown prediction
