Unfortunately for the Black Cats, one issue that plagued the club last season remains a problem: a lack of striking options.
The club signed four young forwards over the summer, but they have been introduced gradually and have yet to make a significant impact. So, how come Sunderland is eighth in the league and only two points off the top six at this point?
It’s largely due to Jack Clarke, his excellent performances, and, most importantly, his goals.
The Black Cats’ winger has nine goals in 15 Championship appearances this season, tying him for the league lead with Blackburn Rovers’ Sammie Szmodics.
Clarke linked with move away from Sunderland
With those strong performances have come eyes, with Premier League clubs interested in Clarke ahead of the January transfer deadline.
According to Alan Nixon on Patreon, Brentford are on’red alert’ for the 22-year-old, and Burnley also had bids rejected for the starlet in the summer.
Meanwhile, Nixon claims that Sunderland are struggling to tie Clarke down to a new contract, one that includes a release clause. Nixon, on the other hand, claims that the money on offer to Clarke is only a minor increase, and that he could earn much more in the top flight. Clarke’s current contract expires in 2026, so there appears to be no reason to rush from the player’s standpoint.
Tony Mowbray addresses Jack Clarke speculation
Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is one man who, at least publicly, is unconcerned about Jack Clarke’s future.
Indeed, the Black Cats manager has been speaking with the media about Clarke’s potential departure this week, and believes that even if he does leave, Sunderland can still mount a play-off challenge this season.
“I would hope we’d still be in contention if we lost him,” Mowbray told The Northern Echo.
“I believe you need to build structure within our teams, which is why you have fringe players.” When they get their chance, hopefully they will contribute to the team. You need players like that to keep the team moving forward.
I cannot sit here and say, for example, that we can simply replace Jack Clarke with Jewison Bennette because he is still a young boy learning the game.” And he’s unlikely to score goals at the same rate as Jack.
“However, if you want to make the playoffs, you’ll need to score between 60 and 70 goals.” Who will score them because Jack is currently leading the way for us in that department? But I wouldn’t expect a complete shift in how we play if we lost him.
“We’d find someone else and deliver the same messages we’re doing now.” We are attempting to create an identity so that if an individual is suspended or otherwise, there is little change.
“You train your entire team, not just 11 people, every day.” That means the backups understand exactly what we do and how we do it, just like the player in front of him. If you do make changes, hopefully you won’t notice the difference too much.
“It’s all about the group. That is why squads exist.”
Can Sunderland reach the play-offs if Jack Clarke departs?
While Tony Mowbray may be confident, you have to admit that if Jack Clarke leaves Sunderland in January, their task of reaching the play-offs would become infinitely more difficult.
Clarke has carried the Black Cats in terms of goals so far this season, with the second highest scorer six goals behind him being Dan Neil, who has only three to his name.
As a result, regardless of what Mowbray says about the importance of the collective over the individual, if Clarke leaves, you have to wonder where the Black Cats’ goals will come from.
Indeed, if Clarke were to leave, the Black Cats would almost certainly need to bring in a direct replacement capable of scoring on a regular basis if they were to make the play-offs.
