Jobe Bellingham now looks set to stay at Sunderland beyond this summer.
Fabrizio Romano reported yesterday that the midfielder had decided to stay on Wearside for at least another season.
Jobe had received heavy interest from some of Europe’s top clubs following his debut campaign at the Stadium of Light.
Crystal Palace were one club who were really pushing to sign the teenager, but it was believed that Sunderland were desperate to keep hold of him unless they received a bid of over £20 million.
The Eagles had already submitted a number of bids and it was unclear whether they would ever reach his valuation, but they have now been forced to turn their attention elsewhere after Jobe committed his future to the Black Cats.
While there will be huge relief on Wearside, they still have to be wary about Palace.
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Crystal Palace tipped to move in for Jack Clarke
Oliver Glasner’s side have held an interest in Jack Clarke for months now, but are yet to make a concrete move for the winger.
However, journalist Joe Ramage has now tipped them to make an offer because of one thing.
He wrote on X: “Will be interesting to see how much Crystal Palace reignite their interest in Jack Clarke this summer off the back of Olise’s sale. Already linked with Jobe, of course.”
Olise, who claimed 16 goal contributions last term, has joined Bayern Munich in a deal worth almost £60m.
The London club will be desperate to add a creative winger to their ranks to replace him and it does seem likely that Clarke could be back on their radar.
The Eagles could be wary about his left foot
The Frenchman did primarily play on the right wing though, while Clarke plays on the left. However, he has made 44 appearances on the right flank.
While this may not completely put them off signing him, if they have done their research then they will know very well that he is best when cutting in and shooting on the edge of the box with his right foot.
According to transfermarkt, Clarke has only scored one goal with his left foot in his whole career (against Swansea in 2022), while he has only scored three of his 29 career goals when playing on the right.
If Palace do decide they want him then they could well meet his valuation though, having received around triple it from Olise’s sale.