One newly-promoted club are set to revisit their ‘long-standing interest’ in one of Sunderland’s prized assets.
Sunderland face competition to keep hold of a number of their key players this summer, having ended the season in a disastrous 16th place.
The Black Cats risk losing the likes of Anthony Patterson, Dan Neil and Dan Ballard over the next few months, while Jack Clarke has long seemed the most likely to leave.
The winger was firstlinked with a move to Burnley last summer, and his brilliant 2023/24 campaign has since attracted even more interest.
Clarke has now been linked with the likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace and Brentford, while Lazio saw a bid rejected for him in January.
While there hadn’t seem to have been any movement on the attacker’s future at the club recently, it now looks like one club could be about to get the ball rolling.
Southampton really to bid for Jack Clarke
According to The Northern Echo journalist Scott Wilson, Southampton are ready to make a move to sign Clarke.
He wrote on X: “Southampton are expected to firm up their long-standing interest in #SAFC winger Jack Clarke following play-off final success.
“The promotion has also seen a clause kick in from the deal that took Ross Stewart to Southampton…”
The Saints beat Leeds United in the play-off final at the weekend, and while Stewart’s success has gifted them an extra £2m, it could also see them lose their star man.
It’s unclear how much Southampton will be willing to pay to sign the 23-year-old, but Sunderland are unlikely to sell for less than £20 million.
Southampton are clearly big fans of the Black Cats, with reports claiming they could also go in for Dan Neil this summer.
Russell Martin’s side already snapped up Stewart last year, while they made an attempt to lure Patrick Roberts to the south coast too.
Would Clarke want to move to the south coast?
It would be a huge surprise if Clarke didn’t leave the club before the start of the season, given that he is simply just way above our level.
The winger will have a host of Premier League clubs to choose from and it would be completely unexpected if he was to join Southampton out of all of his options.
While he would surely be guaranteed regular football, Clarke would be joining a club who could well be back in the Championship next term.
St Mary’s Stadium is also at the complete opposite end of the country and, born in York, he may prefer to stay slightly further up north.
Sunderland will likely be willing to offload him if a club can meet their price tag, but Dan Neil is surely one they will fight to keep hold of.