Football League World
·19 November 2024
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·19 November 2024
We took a look at how Jack Clarke is doing in the Premier League after completing a summer switch from Sunderland to Ipswich Town
Jack Clarke broke Sunderland hearts in the summer when he completed a move to newly promoted Ipswich Town after two-and-a-half years of impressive form at the Stadium of Light.
Clarke had become a real Sunderland fan favourite thanks to his performances after signing from Spurs in 2022, initially on loan, before making it permanent following their promotion to the Championship.
Given his performances in the Championship, it felt like just a matter of time before he left, and while Sunderland supporters would have been heartbroken by his decision to depart for Ipswich, no one could begrudge him the chance to play Premier League football.
With that in mind, we've taken a look at how Clarke is doing at Ipswich Town since completing his summer move away from Sunderland.
While Clarke has played in every Premier League game possible since his move from Sunderland in August, he hasn't started as many games as he'd have liked.
In total, since his summer switch from Sunderland, Clarke has started just three of The Tractor Boys' nine games, a statistic which will no doubt frustrate the 23-year-old.
He is yet to find the back of the net for Kieran McKenna's side too, with just one assist being his only goal involvement, coming in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at the end of September, his only 90 minutes in an Ipswich Town shirt so far.
Despite only playing two Sunderland games this season prior to his move, Clarke has actually scored more goals for the Black Cats this season, scoring in their win over Cardiff City on the opening day of the season, before registering an assist against Sheffield Wednesday the following week.
The winger hasn't quite been able to replicate his Championship form in the top-flight just yet, but it's early days and nobody should be writing Clarke off this early into his move.
After paying a reported fee of £15million which could rise to £20million with add-ons, Ipswich will expect Clarke to find form soon and start replicating his Sunderland form, but it's always difficult after completing a move to a newly promoted club.
Ipswich won their first game of the season against Tottenham prior to the international break, and while results haven't gone their way, they've adapted reasonably well to the Premier League and look capable of staying up.
After being used as a substitute in recent weeks, Clarke will be hoping he returns to McKenna's starting XI after the international break and can replicate some of the form he showed at Sunderland.
Clarke started the Championship season in excellent form for Sunderland, and understandably, there were concerns over how much they'd miss him when he left.
However, Sunderland have continued their excellent start to the season without Clarke, and they sit top of the league after 15 games.
Who knows, Regis Le Bris' side could be further ahead at the top of the Championship if they managed to keep Clarke, but as it stands, they're not missing the 23-year-old despite the impact he had at the club in recent seasons.
After seeing the way Sunderland have started the season, Clarke may even have regrets about moving from the Stadium of Light, and if they were to get promoted he could well be looking on with envy.