Exclusive: Tottenham to benefit from major Sunderland exit in January, as Crystal Palace rival Brighton for classy star

Crystal Palace and Brighton have joined Burnley and three other Premier League clubs at looking to land Sunderland winger Jack Clarke – but it is Tottenham who could prove the big winners, TEAMtalk understands.

Clarke has emerged as one of the best players in the Championship in the last 12 months, firing Sunderland into the Championship top six last season, only for their play-off dreams to end at the semi-final stage against eventual winners Luton. Indeed, he finished the 2022/23 campaign with an impressive tally of nine goals and 12 assists from 47 appearances; form which unsurprisingly attracted plenty of summer attention.

However, Sunderland held firm with Clarke staying put and not letting the disappointment of returning to the Premier League hold him back.

Indeed, having scored seven goals from 11 games already, Clarke is the joint top scorer in the league and the 22-year-old was named as the Championship’s Player of the Month for September.

But having joined Sunderland on a permanent deal last year after a loan stint from Tottenham, Sunderland are facing an increasingly difficult battle to hang on to their star player’s services.

To that end, the Black Cats rejected bids of over £10m in the summer, with Burnley failing to finalise a deal despite multiple efforts to sign him. We understand the offers were not enough to tempt Tony Mowbray’s side into a sale, particularly with a clause entitling Tottenham to a substantial cut of any future sale.

Tottenham to benefit from Jack Clarke sale

Now, however, Tottenham look likely to benefit with a number of clubs, in addition to Burnley, plotting January approaches for Clarke.

And while the Clarets do remain keen, we understands that a number of other Premier League clubs are now preparing to make a move for him in January.

And we can reveal that both Crystal Palace and Brighton have been following Clarke closely since last season and are now ready to push ahead with interest in January.

It is also understood that Brentford, Wolves and Bournemouth have also been watching Clarke this season, though, at this stage, they look less likely to launch a move.

Sunderland reportedly value Clarke at around the £20m mark, with his Premier League suitors ready to open the bidding at £15m.

While Tottenham’s cut of a future sale has not been disclosed, it could reportedly be as high as 50%, meaning any transfer for the player would go some distance towards limiting their losses on the £10m they paid Leeds for the winger back in summer 2019.

Clarke left Tottenham permanently in summer 2022, making a total of just four appearances for the Lilywhites.

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