Brighton and Crystal Palace have been closely following Sunderland ace Jack Clarke, reports TEAMtalk, with the Black Cats wanting £20million for their star man.
Clarke, 22, is enjoying another standout season in the Championship, with seven goals to his name already.
Burnley are long-term suitors of the former Spurs man and TEAMtalk say that they remain keen, having tried and failed to sign Clarke during the summer transfer window.
TEAMtalk also add that Brighton and Crystal Palace ‘have been following Clarke closely since last season’ and that both clubs are ready to step up their interest in the January transfer window.
The same report also says that Bournemouth, Brentford, and Wolves have an interest, but are less likely to make a move for Clarke, whilst former club Spurs could be owed as much as 50% of any future sale of Clarke.
Tottenham signed Clarke from Leeds United in 2019. They paid an initial £8.5million for his signature but sold him to Sunderland last year; how much for though remains a mystery.
The Black Cats currently sit in 4th place of the Championship table after a strong start to the campaign under boss Tony Mowbray.
Sunderland to cash in on Clarke?
This is such a difficult one for Sunderland to weigh up.
They have a golden opportunity to push for a Premier League return, and Clarke would no doubt play a huge role in potentially getting the club back in the top flight.
But at the same time, nothing is guaranteed, and teams in the Championship largely have to be selling clubs in order to build and maintain, so £20million for Clarke could be too hard to turn down.
And a Premier League move could be too hard for Clarke to turn down as well. He’s showing a lot of class this season and arguably deserves another top flight transfer.
Sunderland face Stoke City in the Championship this weekend.
