Since last summer, Sunderland winger Jack Clarke has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park alongside a host of other Premier League sides.
It’s quite obvious to assume that Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman are long-term admirers of the 23-year-old, but so are the Eagles fanbase if X, formerly Twitter, is anything to go by.
Ever since his name was associated with the South London side, there has been an outpouring of support for the signing, and if I do say so myself, a desire to make it happen. But is Jack Clarke worth the hype? And would it make sense for Palace to sign the winger?
To summarise Jack Clarke, he is a direct, explosive, and dynamic winger, which makes him a very appealing prospect. The young man from Yorkshire loves to take on a full back and is capable of going on either the inside or outside of whoever stands in his path. Under previous manager Tony Mowbray, there was an element of Clarke’s game that seemed to be surprisingly similar to Palace legend Wilfred Zaha. Often deployed on the left of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1, the 23-year-old remains wide, hugging the touchline, using his flair, and dribbling ability to come inside and manufacture an opportunity for himself and the team.
On more than one occasion this season, Clarke has been left in an isolated situation with just him and the opposition full back, utilising his swagger and arrogance to, more often than not, breeze past the defender. As a result of playing in this fashion, there is always a gaping hole in the half space ready for an attacker or Clarke to exploit by cutting inside.
Even though Clarke is strong with his right foot, he is also very gifted with his left, heavily reliant on it for his excellent by-line dribbling. Well-known for driving across his opponents into the box and looking for the cut back or perhaps even a penalty, the winger can terrify defenders. Despite lacking the skill of Zaha, the winger does possess a slightly nimbler ability to weave in and out of players due to his fast feet.
Clarke can also be versatile, with Mowbray deploying him more centrally when Sunderland looked to catch teams on the break. While he is brilliant at carrying the team up the pitch, the winger demonstrates an intelligence and awareness far above the Championship, even when functioning in a slightly deeper role. His ability to operate in the half space and open up the midfield, is the sign of a player far beyond his years.
So far this season, Clarke has 12 goals and two assists in 26 matches for Sunderland in the Championship. An improvement from his 9 goals and 11 assists last season, it’s clear to see that Clarke has matured as a player and perfected his game. The most impressive aspect of Clarke’s game is his direct nature. This season Clarke has completed a staggering 219 progressive carries and is one of the highest in the Championship for successful take-ons, with 96 completed. Following that, Clarke is currently outscoring his xG of 9. He also demonstrates a strong passing range attempting a variety of short, medium, and long passes with a competent completion rate.
Clarke is also no stranger to helping out defensively, with his heatmap suggesting a player who works extremely hard for the team. So far this season, the 23-year-old has made 62 successful tackles and interceptions, with the majority of his tackles coming in the mid-defensive third, illustrating he’s not afraid to track back and support the team. He mostly operates up and down that left flank as expected.
Interestingly enough, of the most notable players who have made the switch to the Premier League from the Championship, such as Jarrod Bowen, Eze, Tella, Pedro, and Daniel James, in terms of stats, Clarke leads all of them, except for successful take-ons, which James narrowly edges him.
Of course, Clarke has his weaknesses. At the tender age of 23, the winger can sometimes be accused of being slightly too individualistic and making the wrong decisions, particularly when the Black Cats have the ball high up the pitch. Despite praising his defensive capabilities, there have been a couple of occasions this season where the Yorkshire-born attacker has neglected his defensive duties and left his full back exposed. As well as that, Clarke can sometimes go missing in the big games, as was evident in the Wear-Tyne Derby against Newcastle. Finally, Clarke was in the Premier League before, albeit briefly, when he joined Spurs and failed to make an impression, even though he had excelled at Leeds United the season prior in the Championship.
That being said, the positives outweigh the negatives, and Clarke is a signing that Palace should be eager to complete. Not only are the statistics extremely exciting, but to the eye, Clarke possesses everything a manager would want from a modern winger and more. Currently, Palace seem to favour deploying an out of position Jordan Ayew or Jeffrey Schlupp, who lacks the quality to consistently start in the best league in the world. While Matheus Franca is an option, his youthful age and inexperience are proving too much of a risk for Roy Hodgson to start the young Brazilian, much to the dissatisfaction of the Eagles fanbase.
With two and a half years left on his contract and Michael Beale stating that the club has no pressure to sell the winger, Palace will have to submit a good offer to secure the services of the promising young Englishman.
Sunderland already rejected a £10 million bid from Burnley, and with Transfermarkt valuing him at five million extra, perhaps it will take a bid of between £15-30 million to make sure of the signing, which would be a major stumbling block for Palace given the competition of teams such as West Ham and a reluctance from the board to spend money.
