'One to watch' - West Ham and Crystal Palace could be beaten to £18m 'super talent' by Leeds United
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The Sunderland man appeared to be Premier League bound but could be snapped up by a Championship rival.
Leeds United are 'ones to watch' in the transfer race for talented Sunderland winger Jack Clarke this summer as the weeks tick by in the transfer window.
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West Ham and Crystal Palace are two of the Premier League clubs who had been linked with interest in the player already this summer. The 23-year-old scored 15 goals and picked up four assists in 40 Championship appearances last season.
Clarke was labelled a 'super talent' by former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray last season. The ex Black Cats boss said: “He was amazing tonight. Scored two great goals, earned the penalty, he stuck it away, which shows the confidence level he’s got to stand up and take the penalty, and the composure for his second goal. But not just the goal. The more the game went on, the more this team knows to give it to Clarke who can run it 40 yards up the pitch, he can cut inside, pass it to people in the box, he can shoot.
“He’s a super talent, he’s a great kid and I don’t apologise for shouting at him and telling him he has to work hard because all the best players work harder than anybody else and their talent shines through. That’s what he has to do, to learn to work really hard out of possession for the team.”
Earlier this summer, Football Insider had credited the Hammers with 'concrete interest' in Clarke. The London outfit were known to be in the market for attacking reinforcements on the flanks for the new season under Julen Lopetegui.
Since then, Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme have arrived at the club but links with further additions in those positions continue to swirl - former Crystal Palace man Wilfried Zaha touted as an option. The Eagles themselves are looking to bring in a winger, also said to be weighing up a reunion with Zaha, as well as a move for Sunderland man Clarke.
The Black Cats star is thought to be available for £18 million this summer, according to The Sun, but it could be a Championship club that swoops to complete a deal with Sunderland. The Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath claimed the Whites were ones to watch in a social media post on Saturday.