OTD: JACK CLARKE BORN

On this day in 2000, former Sunderland winger Jack Clarke was born in York. He played for Sunderland between 2022 and 2024, making 114 appearances and scoring 28 goals, he helped the club to promotion out of League One.

When Clarke signed for Tottenham Hotspur for around £10 million, he was a teenager from Leeds United with the world at his feet. He was a massive fan favourite at Elland Road and the price tag, while hefty, looked to be a smart investment on a player whose value would only increase.

But he never actually made a league appearance for Spurs. He was loaned back to Leeds initially, before further Championship spells at Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City proved to be unsuccessful. So when he arrived on Wearside (an initial loan deal) fans were happy to see a player who was once such a prodigious talent but sceptical in the way his career had gone up to that point.

Upon his arrival, Clarke said: “I can't wait to get started. I'm from this part of the world, so I know this is a massive club and what it means to the fans. I'm looking forward to playing at the Stadium of Light and the prospect of being part of the team that takes the club back to the Championship. I want to help the team as much as possible, whether that's goals or assists, and ensure we reach that end goal.”

He made his debut in that awful 6-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers and had to wait a while to get his first goal. It took Jack nine games to get on the scoresheet, when he cut inside on his right and smashed it into the top corner. In reality, that eagerness to cut inside every time made him a bit predictable in League One and we didn’t see the best of him until towards the end of the season when he really came into form. In the play-off semi-final, he went outside for once down the line and provided Patrick Roberts with that amazing moment that sent us to Wembley.

Fans were delighted when he signed permanently in the summer, on a four-year deal. It was seen as a massive coup to sign a Tottenham wonderkid who had Premier League ambitions and fitted with our new ‘model’ of signing young players with plenty of room to improve and increase in value.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be back because I really enjoyed my time here last season. It felt right to return and after winning promotion to the Championship last season, I’m excited to play my part in the next step of our journey. We have a good balance in the squad and a great bond in the dressing room, so I believe we can continue to progress as a team and enjoy another successful season.”

He got off to a flying start as a permanent Sunderland player, heading in our first goal back in the Championship, against Coventry and despite starting as an auxiliary wingback. He continued to be one of our biggest threats throughout the campaign - our top assist maker with 11, and our third best goal scorer with nine.

One of the best moments of 2022/23 was when Jack finished an amazing team move which wouldn’t have looked out of place at Barcelona. An eight-pass move was scored by Clarke against Reading, winning EFL Goal of the Month.. In the absence of a striker and with our change in manager coming out of nowhere, Jack was asked to play anywhere from wingback to striker during that season and always looked like one of our most impressive signings.

In 2023/24 he reached another level entirely, with 15 goals and four assists. The team didn't match this level of performance however and we could only muster up a 16th place finish in the end. Naturally, this led to interest from teams higher up the pecking order and we all pretty much knew he would leave before the conclusion of the 2024 summer transfer window, which he did. Clarke did provide a goal and an assist with two more appearances in the 2024/25 campaign before leaving for Ipswich Town for a fee of £15 million plus £5 million in add-ons.

Ipswich had just been promoted automatically to the Premier League, a second promotion in two seasons and they were spending big in an attempt to remain in the top flight. They had a popular manager too, in Kieron McKenna, but most predicted they would come straight back down, which they did. Whilst he was playing regularly (not always as a starter though) he didn't contribute as much as he would have liked. Registering just four assists in 36 league matches and no goals. To be fair, he was adapting to a new league and was often played out of position.

This season, he's back to his old self (largely due to the fact the manager has realised he should be played in his natural position) and, at the time of writing, he's scored six goals in 15 matches as the Blues looks to make an immediate return to the top league.