It is undoubtedly the transfer story of Sunderland ’s summer so far. Despite starting the first two games of the 2024-25 Championship season under new head coach Régis Le Bris, Sunderland’s talisman Jack Clarke has moved onto Premier League pastures after Ipswich Town secured a deal to buy the classy winger. Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our Sunderland AFC newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
There is no doubt that Clarke’s loss will be a blow to Sunderland and its supporters . The former Leeds United and Tottenham man scored against Cardiff City on the Championship’s opening weekend and assisted Mayenda’s second goal against Sheffield Wednesday a week later. Professional to the very last moment Therein lies some of the beauty when it comes to Clarke.
His professionalism throughout this long-running transfer saga has, by all accounts, been good. The player has remained available for selection and has trained well. There was no Alex Pritchard-like behaviour.
Clarke’s goals and assists prompted inevitable transfer interest in his services this summer but that interest did not materialise into the bidding war that Sunderland may have liked. Southampton ’s interest was genuine but faded. Leeds were also keen but could not afford the £15million plus £5million add-ons that Sunder.