Sunderland look set to lose Jack Clarke in the summer, and he’ll leave behind him a real void in attack.
Sunderland have certainly struggled without Clarke.
The 23-year-old has missed the last five now and is once again ruled out for the Championship clash vs Cardiff City on Friday.
Clarke has so far scored 15 goals in the Championship this season and the Black Cats have scored just three since his injury, firing blanks in three of the five games.
Sunderland sign Romaine Mundle as Jack Clarke successor
Sunderland signed ex-Spurs youngster Romaine Mundle in January.
With Clarke looking nailed on to leave this summer, it may be that Sunderland view Mundle as the long-term heir to Clarke.
But so far he’s not shown any signs of being someone who could eventually fill Clarke’s shoes.
The 20-year-old has featured eight times in the Championship for Sunderland with one goal to his name; albeit a deflected goal in the 4-2 defeat vs Southampton.
Whilst Mundle could go on to become a key player for Sunderland, the Black Cats may have a more like-for-like Clarke replacement within their youth academy.
Tom Watson continuing to shine at Academy of Light
Sunderland’s Academy of Light has produced some top players in recent years, including Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil, and more recently, Chris Rigg.
And we could see another name make the step up to the first-team next season, or even before the end of this season; Tom Watson.
The 17-year-old, born in Easington, has six goals in 12 total appearances for Sunderland’s youth sides this season.
And he’s earned some high praise throughout the campaign, too.
Sunderland Echo journalist James Copley sung his praises earlier in the month, with clips emerging of Watson who looks scarily similar to Clarke.
Journalist Michael Graham shared one video earlier in the season, describing Watson as a ‘quality’ player:
Tom Watson next in line for Sunderland first-team call up
Rigg’s inclusion in the first-team this season further proves the fact that Sunderland place plenty of trust in young players; not only the ones they sign but the ones coming through their own academy too.
And, like with the case of Rigg, Sunderland could be tempted to promote Watson sooner rather than later so that Watson is more inclined to stay at the club.
If Watson sees that there’s a place in the first-team for him then it would surely tempt him to stay for at least next season.
That, combined with Clarke likely leaving and Mundle not looking overly-impressive so far, could see Watson play an important role next time round.
If Sunderland can get a couple of wins on the board and secure their Championship status for next season, then Mike Dodds could give a run-out to the likes of Watson in the final weeks of the season.
