Sunderland are still recovering from the loss of Jack Clarke but he is now settling into life at Ipswich Town following his late summer move.
When a player is as good as Jack Clarke, it isn’t long before they start receiving lofty interest.
The winger was simply too good for the Championship, terrorising full backs for fun to become one of the division’s real magicians.
Clarke was linked with Premier League clubs for months but Ipswich Town finally pounced for the wide man late into the summer transfer window.
Sunderland brought in around £13.5million for Clarke after Tottenham Hotspur took their cut on the basic agreement with Ipswich.
That fee felt a little low for one of the Championship’s top players but Sunderland chose not to stand in his way of Premier League football.
Ipswich Town boss on Jack Clarke
Clarke has gone and Sunderland are moving on with Romaine Mundle stepping up to the plate so far this season.
Fans will still have one eye on Clarke’s progress though and will wish him all the best as he settles into Premier League life.
Clarke has yet to start for Ipswich but did come off the bench for half an hour against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Clarke helped the Tractor Boys see out a 0-0 draw whilst completing two dribbles – more than any Ipswich teammate.
The winger has previously failed to make a Premier League impact with Tottenham Hotspur but is now ready to shine with Ipswich.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has now delivered his verdict on Clarke whilst speaking to TWTD.
McKenna predicts that Clarke will be a ‘terrific’ player for Ipswich moving forward.
Clarke was thrown on to help Ipswich try and keep hold of the ball more with McKenna praising his ability to carry the ball and drive his team up the pitch.
Sunderland fans saw that on so many occasions and McKenna even praised his defensive work rate as Ipswich saw out a 0-0 draw.
“We weren’t getting hold of the ball enough and Jack Clarke I think is going to be a terrific asset for us in terms of wanting the ball all the time,” said McKenna.
“He wants to hold the ball, he wants to hold off defenders, he wants to carry the ball up the pitch, he’s really clean technically and he gives us something completely different in that slot, and he did his defensive work really well,” he added.
Sunderland will hope Clarke excels in the Premier League
Seeing Clarke shine elsewhere may not be easy for many supporters but it would certainly help the club moving forward.
If Clarke performs well for Ipswich, he may well attract even loftier Premier League interest and make another big move next summer.
The terms of Clarke’s move mean Sunderland hold a 15% sell-on clause and will take a chunk of any future fee if Clarke leaves Ipswich.
That could be very handy in the future and Sunderland will ultimately hope that the clause in Clarke’s deal pays off down the line.
McKenna certainly seems to have been impressed so far and a bigger role will surely materialise for him in the coming weeks and months, with Sunderland watching on in the hope of another pay day.