A Sunderland youngster has been tipped to replace Jack Clarke in the summer.
Sunderland will be hugely relieved that they managed to keep hold of Jack Clarke in the January window, with Lazio launching two late bids for his signature.
The winger will stay on Wearside until at least the end of the season after admitting that he is ‘happy’ at the club, though it looks highly likely that he will complete a move to the Premier League in the summer.
Clarke has already been linked with the likes of Burnley, West Ham and Crystal Palace, and Sunderland’s potential failure to secure a play-off place could leave them in danger of losing him.
The Black Cats will undoubtedly demand a big fee for the 23-year-old, who could leave for over £20 million with two years remaining on his contract.
While the club would surely look to reinvest that cash back into the squad, journalist Michael Graham believes they have already signed Clarke’s replacement.
When asked whether Jewison Bennette could be trusted to take on that role on X, Graham responded: “I think Mundle will be the Clarke replacement and they’ll reassess Bennette in the summer.”
Can Romaine Mundle replace Sunderland’s best player?
Romaine Mundle is primarily a right winger, but has actually played a similar amount of games on the left (33 compared to 28), while he also has one more goal contribution (6 goals, 6 assists).
From video clips, the 20-year-old looks to favour cutting in and shooting as well, so the right-footed attacker could really benefit from playing on the left – much like Clarke does.
It’s hard to judge when we haven’t seen our January signing in action for the senior team yet, but he is another player that Tottenham Hotspur saw plenty of potential in, though the only difference between himself and Jack Clarke is that they actually wanted Mundle to extend his contract.
It would be great news for everyone if Mundle could take Clarke’s place without any major disturbances, but this would only keep the fans content if the money earned did boost the rest of the squad.
There will surely be no denying that we finally need to invest in a striker in the summer – that is unless Nazariy Rusyn hits the ground running now.
But if we have the cash in the bank then Sunderland should have a great opportunity to really strengthen the squad and have a third crack at winning promotion.