Jack Clarke has already impressed fans since arriving at Ipswich Town as their 10th signing of the summer. Alex Jones takes a closer look at the new arrival.
Leeds breakthrough
Born and raised in York, Clarke didn’t have far to move to join Leeds United, which he did in 2009 after winning his division with Under-8s junior side Heworth.
He progressed through the ranks at Elland Road, signing a two-year scholarship deal in 2017 before playing a starring role with the U23s.
"This is everything that I have worked hard for over the last couple of years," Clarke said. "It feels like the start of what I want to do with my life. But I don't have any set aims. Whatever happens (next), I will be grateful for it.”
First-team manager Thomas Christiansen had intended on naming him in the squad for their Carabao Cup fixture against Leicester City, but he ultimately opted to leave him out due to the fact he didn’t have a professional contract and didn’t want to alert the attention of any bigger clubs who could take him on for next to nothing.
That professional contract came a few weeks later. He made his senior debut around a year later in October 2018, with his first goal coming against Aston Villa, at Villa Park, a few years later.
He continued his rapid progression, one which was only halted by an incident where he collapsed on the bench at Middlesbrough and was taken ill with a virus. He certainly found that he was playing his best football under Marcelo Bielsa, who was a big fan of the young winger.
Working with 'El Loco'
In general, Clarke seemed to have a really good relationship with Bielsa, who piled praise on him during the early stages of his time at Elland Road.
“Every time he plays he adapts better to the level of demands of the team of Leeds,” the Argentine manager said.
“He doesn’t look like a young player and every time he plays he has the capacity to create a difference with the opponent. The action of goal is not linked to his best virtues, his best skills, apart from the fact it was an important point during the game.
"Every time he plays he makes the difference.”
The feeling was certainly mutual, with Clarke highlighting Bielsa’s meticulous nature in an interview with The Athletic.
“I’ve never met anybody within the game as intense,” he explained.
“It was my debut season, so to speak, in professional football, so I just assumed it’s what it’s like when you get to this level. He was ridiculously intense, ridiculously detailed in everything he did, but obviously he brought success to the club, so you can’t question it.
“There were no grey areas; it was black or white. If he wanted you to run in behind, you’d run in behind. If he wanted you to come and play in the pocket, you’d play in the pocket. It helps because you get that clarity of what the manager expects. I think he got the best out of what we had there.”
A tough time in London
As fellow Leeds academy graduate Archie Gray found out this summer, when a club the size of Tottenham Hotspur come calling, you’re almost always going to make the move.
Clarke had found a home in West Yorkshire, but a move to the capital proved too difficult to turn down. He claimed that it came ‘out of the blue’, especially given that Spurs were a beaten Champions League finalist just a few weeks earlier, although they seemingly beat Manchester City to his signature.
Signed by Mauricio Pochettino, he was sent back on loan to his former club for the 2019/20 season. However, he was used sparingly by Bielsa in that period. The deal was terminated as a result, which frustrated the Leeds boss. When Clarke returned, Pochettino was gone and José Mourinho was in charge.
Another loan followed in January 2020, this time at QPR. He struggled to establish himself in the team or perform at a high level, which Mourinho noticed. Clarke revealed that, ahead of a Championship game, the Portuguese boss told him: “Either you’re s***, or QPR are s***. And we’ll find out today.”
What went wrong?
Despite returning to Spurs and featuring in the Europa League in the first half of the 2020/21 campaign, nothing seemed to progress. He revealed that the constant uncertainty at the club didn’t help him, nor did the fact that he did, at times, feel a bit out of place.
“You’re stepping up a level and I was only 17/18 that season,” he explained. “So you’re wondering whether you can survive in that environment, training with those players. ‘Are they going to be a million miles away from what I am?’ Or, ‘Can I go there and… not stand out, but not feel out of place?’
“After my first week in pre-season, I felt I’d done alright and that doubt sort of goes. But it’s a bit daunting — you’re watching players on TV at World Cups and Champions League finals and suddenly you’re sat next to them putting your boots on to go training.”
A tough spell at Stoke City, which was ended prematurely with an Achilles injury, proved to be the final straw for him at Spurs. That being said, he never saw it as the wrong decision for his career.
“People might think of Tottenham as an unsuccessful time but with people like that and the players, you can’t not learn,” he argued. “Even if you’re not playing, you’re developing. You’re seeing how they conduct themselves. It’s experience: a learning curve you can’t get if you’re not there.
“So you can look at it and say, ‘I went there, didn’t play and ended up getting sold without making an impression on the club’, but for my personal development as a young kid, watching them every day, you can’t replicate that.”
Sunderland renaissance
Returning to action, Clarke joined then League One side Sunderland on loan for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign. He made his debut off the bench in a 6-0 thrashing at Bolton Wanderers. Less than 24 hours later, the manager who signed him - Lee Johnson - was sacked. It must’ve felt like he’d never have any continuity and that things would never turn around.
Alex Neil’s appointment changed the club. Despite a rocky start to 2022, they went unbeaten from February 22nd until the end of the season, winning promotion via the play-offs.
Clarke joined on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee that summer. He starred for the Black Cats as they took the Championship by storm, bagging nine goals and 11 assists as they secured a top-six finish despite Neil’s exit at the start of the campaign.
The winger flourished under Tony Mowbray in particular, although Sunderland’s struggles at the start of the 2023/24 campaign saw him sacked. They ultimately ended up regretting that decision as their campaign fizzled out, ending it in 16th. Despite this, Clarke bagged himself 15 goals and four assists, scoring a stunner against Ipswich back in January.
"Sunderland's main man steps up AGAIN!" 😤
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 13, 2024
Great strike from Jack Clarke ☄️ pic.twitter.com/oUMdMmUqCL
“I have found a sense of belonging here: I feel comfortable and I’m enjoying playing my football,” he said at the end of his first full season on Wearside. “I think you can see that, not just with me but with the whole team. We look confident. And we should be.
“In football, it’s hard to get to a point where you are happy and just stay at that point. We all have ups and downs in terms of form and whatever else. But since I’ve come to this club, I feel like it’s been on an upward trajectory and with that direction, you don’t want to be left behind. The club’s getting stronger. You want to be in line with that; be one of those driving it forward.”
Ultimately, the allure of a Premier League move and the chance to play for Town proved to be too much, although he continued to play for Sunderland while transfer speculation brewed in the background.
In making the switch, he reunites with Leif Davis and Kalvin Phillips, who he played with at Leeds in 2018/19. Even then, his departure from the Stadium of Light was clearly hard.
“This club has been my home for the past three seasons and I have loved every minute of representing the club and the people who live and breathe Sunderland AFC,” he wrote on Instagram. “I couldn't have asked or dreamt of a better place to play my football.
“To all my team mates I shared my experience with, to the staff who took care of me everyday and lastly to the fans who treat me as good as one of their own from the minute I arrived, I want to thank you all you truly all make the club special.”
“I wish you all the best. Until we meet again.”
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