One Sunderland player will be feeling very hard done to, after the English Football League announced their Player of the Year nominations.
The end of the season is almost upon us.
And for Sunderland, the end of the 2023/24 campaign can’t come soon enough.
With six games left, the Black Cats could quickly be dragged into an uncomfortable league position if results don’t improve.
Mike Dodds‘ side have won just one of their last nine now and sit 11 points above the drop zone, compared to 13 points outside the top six.
But there’s been some positives to take from this season.
EFL announce Player of the Year nominations
For Sunderland, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman, there’s a few positives to take from this season.
Fans have once again packed out the Stadium of Light on a regular basis, and in fairness, a mid-table Championship finish is still a fairly decent season.
Though it could’ve been much more.
Still, whoever comes in as manager in the summer will inherit a very good squad with a lot of potential, and with a few tweaks in the summer transfer window this Sunderland side could realistically challenge for promotion.
But it looks like one of their star players will definitely leave; Jack Clarke.
And despite a standout season in the second tier, Clarke has been overlooked for the EFL’s Championship Player of the Year award.
The nominees are Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Leicester City, Crysencio Summerville at Leeds United, and Sammie Szmodics who inspired Blackburn Rovers to a 5-1 win vs Sunderland on Monday.
Jack Clarke’s 2023/24 season at Sunderland
Former Leeds and Spurs man Clarke, now 23, has blossomed into a quality Championship player this season.
In 34 Championship appearances, Clarke has scored 15 goals and assisted four more, compared to nine goals and 12 assists last season.
He’s shown his prowess in attack, with his trickery and ambition to drive forward being his USP.
And Sunderland’s inability to win in his absence highlights his importance and quality.
So to not even receive a nomination for the Player of the Season award, after such huge improvements and a real journey to where he is, will be frustrating for him.
The summer ahead for Jack Clarke
Clarke has numerous suitors in the Premier League.
He has done for some time now with bids coming in last summer and in January too, with Burnley and Lazio among the clubs to have tried to sign Clarke.
And after fending off bids reportedly coming close to £20million, it looks like the Black Cats will finally sell on Clarke this summer, and take a huge profit in the process.
It’s not all bad then, but Speakman needs to ensure the money is put to proper use and that a suitable replacement is found.
It’ll be no good signing a bunch of inexperienced European players again.
Speakman needs to add definite quality this summer, or else Sunderland could really fall short next season.