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“£25-30 million” – Sunderland fan pundit makes Jack Clarke claim as Brentford and Burnley circl

Premier League clubs are keen once more on the winger, with FLW’s Black Cats fan pundit putting a big price-tag on his head

 Jack Clarke’s impressive start to the Championship season has caught the attention of Burnley and Brentford, who are rumored to be interested in the winger.

Sunderland is unlikely to sell Clarke unless they receive a massive bid, as they value him highly and are not under pressure to sell.

A valuation of £25-30 million for Clarke is fair, considering his talent, contract length, and comparable deals for other Championship players in the past.

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sunderland’s exciting start to the 2023-24 Championship season has been led by one man on the pitch that has been capturing all the headlines in the form of Jack Clarke.

The winger has scored seven goals in his 11 league appearances so far, showing that he has come on leaps and bounds from a few years ago where he had multiple unsuccessful loan spells away from Tottenham.

Tony Mowbray managed to keep hold of Clarke over the summer despite Alan Nixon’s claims that Burnley bid a guaranteed £7 million over the summer with an extra few million in potential add-ons. That was rejected by Sunderland and Vincent Kompany moved on to other targets.

 

But the Clarets are said to be still keeping tabs on Clarke ahead of the January transfer window, according to Football Insider, despite their plethora of options out wide which would surely render the Sunderland man an unnecessary buy.

And they have been joined in the race by Brentford, who are also making checks over Clarke following his strong start to the 2023-24 season.

What is Jack Clarke worth to Sunderland?

FLW’s Black Cats fan pundit Jack Austwicke believes that it would have to take a massive bid for Sunderland to even consider parting company with Clarke, although he has conceded that the winger will probably not be at the club come next season should they not be promoted back to the Premier League before then.

“I know Burnley were circling all summer but they reportedly put in some very insulting offers, around £7-8 million – that is really pathetic,” Jack said when speaking to Football League World.

“Arguably the best winger in the Championship, young, English and we’re under no real pressure to sell him, so I think you’re looking at £25 million for Clarke – £25-30 million.

“You might say that’s the market going mad, but I don’t really see why not – we’re not under any pressure to sell him, we don’t really need the money and we’d have made a big profit from that.

“And I think like Dan Ballard, we won’t really see him past the end of the season.”

Is £25-30 million a fair valuation for Jack Clarke?

A player is only worth what another club is willing to pay, and Sunderland would have every right to demand £25 million-plus for Clarke.

He is under contract on Wearside until 2026 so there is no rush for the Black Cats to cash in, and you only have to look at other former Championship players to see that it’s not exactly an over the odds price.

Hull got £20 million for Keane Lewis-Potter from Brentford, whilst also agreeing a £25 million deal with West Ham for Jarrod Bowen, and you could argue that Clarke is on Bowen’s level at the time that he was sold to the Hammers.

If Clarke keeps his form up then Premier League clubs will come calling, and a figure of around the £25 million mark would be fair in the current climate.