Michael Beale insists that Jack Clarke is "super happy" at Sunderland and is not phased by the speculation surrounding his future...
COMFORTABLE WITH HIS ROLE
"What I see is a boy who is really comfortable in the changing room, really comfortable with the role he has in the team. It's been quite seamless with me coming in, he has maintained his form, there's not much changed for him. I would say that Jack is in a really good place."
BEST FOOTBALL OF HIS CAREER
"Jack has seen quite a lot in football - he came through at a young age at Leeds, he had a big move to Tottenham and at that time Tottenham had a few changes of manager and Jack had a few loans, and then he landed here at Sunderland and it felt like a really good match. You don't know what tomorrow is going to bring but at this moment in time I am looking at a boy that looks hugely motivated and is enjoying his football, he's probably having the best season of his career numbers-wise and with 20 games to go the story of this season is yet to be written."
NO PRESSURE TO SELL
"I think Jack wants to play a big part of that. We're under no pressure to sell any players. In all these things, there are a lot of different angles. At the moment, Jack is super-happy, he is focused, his training level is high."
PREMIER LEAGUE MONEY TEMPTING?
"If certain bids come in for your players as a Championship club, they are not welcome but they get to a number and the Premier League numbers can cause chaos to your season in a month like January. But I don't envisage anything coming our way and I know the commitment that the owners have to this season and to the project. When I was coming in to the club there weren't any concerns on that."
SPECULATION MEANS WE'RE DOING WELL
"If you're doing what he's doing week in, week out at the top end of the Championship there's going to be people speaking well of you and there's going to be speculation. I want that for our players. That means that we're doing well as a club and the players are doing well and thriving in our environment."
WE WANT HIM HERE
"I've not heard of any enquiries coming directly into the club. I'd be lying if I said I'd welcome them because we want Jack here playing for a strong Sunderland team, certainly to see out what this team is trying to do this season. Jack seems super focused. I've been really impressed with him since I came in in terms of his work ethic and quality. I think the speculation is always going to be there when you're scoring the amount of goals he is. We want people talking about our club in a positive light."
YOUNG PLAYERS THRIVE
"We give a lot of opportunities here to young players, there's a lot of responsibility and a lot that we ask of the young players as well in terms of their daily motivation and individual programmes for development. Jack has found a home here at Sunderland that has been very good for him and he is thriving."
FIVE OR SIX
"He's not the only one who is doing that - if you look at Trai Hume who came over from Linfield, he is thriving here too. We've got more than just the one player, I could name five or six, and that's exciting."
