Mike Dodds has underlined that Saturday may not be Jack Clarke’s final game for Sunderland, warning any interested parties that signing the winger this summer will require a large cost.
Clarke is expected to leave in the transfer window due to unsuccessful contract talks this season. The sporting director has already hinted at a sale earlier this year. The interim head coach believes the winger still has a lot to work on and stated last summer that the club will not consider any lowball offers for the 23-year-old.
“The Jack situation, I don’t really read the stuff online so I don’t know what the narrative is,” Dodds was quoted as saying.
“I’ll be quite interested in Jack’s predicament because he still has a long contract. I know there was a lot of interest last summer, but the club didn’t believe it was anything near their valuation, so it will be an intriguing summer. I’m not going to get caught up in Jack, the summer, and what the football club or Jack want. However, I do not believe it is totally certain that Jack will depart the football club.
“He has a long contract, and the club has proved that they would not let anyone leave for a low price, so there will be some back and forth if clubs are interested. Jack would be a benefit for the recruitment model. He came in on loan and took some time to settle, but by the end of the League One season, he was extremely good. Then came summer, and Jack did not come in right away. He joined us halfway through our vacation to Portugal. He didn’t come in right away, but he’s just gotten stronger.
“He’s got huge potential,” he added.
“He’s still a young man, and there’s a lot of work to be done, as well as a lot of aspects of his game that he has to improve. If we talk about him moving on to the Premier League, it’s a five-step process. We’re talking about the top league in the world, so he still has a lot to learn and improve on. But he is a good child. He’s a weird character who moans about everything, but you can put up with the complaining if he delivers the numbers he does. It will be an interesting summer; in my opinion, I don’t think Jack will leave the football club since he has a long contract and the club has proved that they would not let players go for less than what they believe is worth. “It will be an interesting summer.”
Clarke’s current contract is for another two seasons, and his representative, Ian Harte, confirmed recently that there had been no progress in negotiations for a new deal.
View more updates on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply