Ipswich Town are preparing a bid to sign the Sunderland winger Jack Clarke.
The 23-year-old is valued in the region of £18m and continues Kieran McKenna’s policy of targeting young, English-bred footballers following Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League.
Thus far, the Ipswich manager has signed winger Omari Hutchinson, centre-back Jason Greaves and forward Liam Delap. All are between 20-23 years old and learned their football at Chelsea, Hull City and Manchester City. Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, signed from Burnley for £8m, is slightly older at 25 but is a graduate of the City academy.
Since joining from Tottenham Hotspur in 2022 for an undisclosed fee, Clarke has become the jewel in a Sunderland side that threatened to break into the play-off positions until the dismissal of Tony Mowbray as manager in December.
However, Sunderland will not see the full value of the transfer as Tottenham negotiated a 40 per cent sell-on fee when they sold Clarke in 2022.
If a deal for Clarke goes through, it will take Ipswich’s summer spending to around £70m, comfortably more than either of the other promoted clubs, Leicester City and Southampton.
Ipswich’s owners, American investment firm ORG, have been prepared to underwrite heavy spending in pursuit of success. When Ipswich won promotion from League One in 2023 they recorded an £18.2m loss.
In March this year, Bright Path Sports Partners, an American private equity firm, invested £105m in the club, funds which are now being aggressively and imaginatively to try to ensure Ipswich survive in the Premier League after a 22-year absence.
McKenna had been hoping to sign the Hull forward, Jaden Philogene, for around £18m, only to see the 22-year-old rejoin his former club Aston Villa with the promise he would be part of their Champions League squad. It was then that Ipswich’s attention turned to the North East.
Clarke, a product of the Leeds United academy who can play on either flank or as a forward, flourished under Marcelo Bielsa, whose protege Mauricio Pochettino paid £10m to take him to Spurs in 2019.