Southampton and Leicester City join the transfer chase for Sunderland star.

Several Premier League clubs, including the Saints and Foxes, are reportedly interested in Jack Clarke.

Jack Clarke is a wanted man after his performances for Sunderland in the Championship this season, just as he was a few years ago when he made an impact for Leeds United.

The 23-year-old had a fantastic season for the Black Cats in 2022-23, helping them reach the second tier play-offs, and he’s already outscored himself in the current season after only 26 matches.

Due to the lack of scoring from Sunderland’s actual strikers, the winger has had to take games by the scruff of the neck at times, and his 12 goals so far demonstrate how important he has been to the club.

Naturally, Clarke is attracting interest from a number of clubs, with six actively interested in a deal this month or monitoring the winger ahead of a potential swoop, including West Ham, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Everton and Bournemouth, according to The Northern Echo.

While it is likely that only Premier League clubs will have the funds to complete a deal for Clarke, some of the Wearside outfit’s Championship rivals have shown surprising interest.

Leicester City and Southampton join the transfer chase for Sunderland winger.

According to the Northern Echo, Leicester City and Southampton are also interested in signing Clarke.

The Foxes, of course, lead the second-tier standings by a significant margin over Ipswich Town, while the Saints, along with Leeds United, are actively pursuing the Tractor Boys.

Both clubs are currently on parachute payments and hope to return to the Premier League at the first opportunity, and both are interested in Clarke.

Unlike most Championship clubs, Southampton and Leicester are likely to have the funds to make a deal happen – it’s just a matter of whether they try to make bids in January or the summer, by which time they could have been promoted and returned to the top flight of English football.
Clarke joining another Championship team seems unlikely in January.

Clarke’s Premier League interest makes a lot of sense; at times, he appears too good for the Championship, and for a club like West Ham, which is in European competition and needs some more flair, spending £20 million or more on him would be a good deal.

However, Clarke’s chances of moving from Sunderland, where he appears to be content and has two and a half years left on his contract, to another second-tier club do not appear to be viable at the moment.

If Leicester and Southampton are both promoted, approaches in the summer would make sense, assuming Clarke remains at Sunderland and the Black Cats remain in the Championship.

But they have little to no chance of signing Clarke this month; however, they are ambitious enough to be interested in taking him from Sunderland.

in other news, Sunderland adds’monster’ Championship striker to their list of transfer targets.