Jack Clarke faces a double header of fixtures that could save or sink his Ipswich Town career, and Sunderland should be on high alert either way.
The former Sunderland favourite has looked out of sorts since joining Ipswich in the summer, and his step up to the Premier League has not gone to plan at all so far.
Jack Clarke has been attracting negative attention from Ipswich fans who are treating the young winger as something of a scapegoat with every passing game.
In fairness, Ipswich themselves have not exactly set the world alight upon their return to the top flight, but the next two games are absolutely huge for the club, and for Jack Clarke individually, too.
Jack Clarke has to produce something against Wolves and Newcastle
Up next for Ipswich is a trip to the Molineux to face fellow strugglers Wolves on Saturday afternoon, and somehow, the Tractor Boys look likely to see Gary O’Neil in the dugout for the Midlands side despite his woeful run of results and apparent lack of support at Wolves.
After that, Ipswich host Newcastle United, who have looked way off their best this season, with Eddie Howe failing to find consistency for the Magpies.
If Ipswich are to have any hopes of staying up this term, they need to pick up at least four points from these next two games, but ideally six. And for Clarke, he simply has to produce something to silence his critics and get his career back on track.
| Statistics | Jack Clarke 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 14 |
| Minutes played | 559 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Games started | 5 |
Be it a goal or an assist, or even just a couple of really strong performances, he really needs to win over the Ipswich fans sooner rather than later.
If he fails to do so, Jack Clarke must consider his options and Sunderland could offer him the perfect escape route in January.
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Sunderland already have the next Jack Clarke in Tommy Watson
To be fair, if you had asked Sunderland fans a week ago whether they would want to see Clarke back at the Stadium of Light, you’d probably have found most would say no.
The emergence of Tommy Watson and comparisons to Jack Clarke had the Black Cats’ fans very excited indeed, and the teenager looked like the kind of player that could help fire Sunderland to promotion this season.
Now, however, Watson has been ruled out for two months with an ‘unlucky’ injury, and Regis Le Bris will need to find a replacement either within the Sunderland squad, or in the January transfer window.
Bringing Clarke back to bolster Sunderland’s options on the wings feels like a move that has to happen. No disrespect to Sunderland, Clarke will be hoping he doesn’t have to take that step down, but if these next two games don’t go his way, he might not have a choice.