Southampton's current Sunderland transfer plan looks doomed to fail: View | OneFootball

Jack Clarke is reportedly wanted by Southampton, but Fabrizio Romano claims that Sunderland value him north of £25m.

According to The Sun, the Black Cats winger is also said to be attracting interest from Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham, with Serie A side Lazio even rumoured to have made a £12m approach last month.

Clarke is without a doubt a man in demand. Although his current club are keen to keep hold of him and feel they're in a strong position when it comes to negotiating, despite The Sunderland Echo reporting that new contract talks are dead.

Southampton want to pay £15m for him, but this move feels doomed to fail due to Sunderland's valuation.

Sunderland's Jack Clarke valuation is acceptable

In today's market, Sunderland are right to demand at least £20m for Clarke. As reported by TEAMtalk in October, Tottenham could get up to 50% of this return as he has a sell-on clause in his contract that could mean they recoup some of the £10m they paid for him in 2019.

After coming through the academy at Leeds United and being given his chance by Marcelo Bielsa in the 2018/19 season, Spurs snapped Clarke up. He couldn't quite force his way into the plans of Mauricio Pochettino, José Mourinho or Antonio Conte at White Hart Lane.

Following frustrating spells back at Leeds before QPR and Stoke City, Clarke then went on loan to Sunderland in 2022 before signing for them permanently and becoming a key player.

For both football and financial reasons, Sunderland's valuation of Clarke is acceptable.

Having scored 28 goals since signing for the Black Cats for an undisclosed fee in 2022, the club understandably want to make a profit as he has improved vastly on their watch – hence his high valuation.

From a business point of view, Spurs were savvy when they sold him, knowing that they would gain from a future transfer and Sunderland are right to be of the same mentality.

However, they will only sell if they make a gain as well, which right now makes a switch unlikely.

Clarke will want to play in the Premier League

The best Sunderland can hope for come May is getting into the play-offs again, but back-to-back defeats against strugglers Huddersfield and Birmingham led to Michael Beale being sacked.

Whoever comes in to replace Beale must get the best out of Clarke if Sunderland are to finish in the top six again and get promoted through the play-offs.

There's no doubt that Clarke will want to play in the Premier League in 2024/25, whether that's for Sunderland or another club.

But with his contract running up until 2026, his current club will be in a strong negotiating position and if they were to let him go they would rightly demand more than the reported £15m that Southampton wish to pay.

Sunderland in a strong position

If Sunderland are to complete their fairytale return to the Premier League for the first time in seven years, via the play-offs come May, then there's every possibility that Clarke will choose to stay at a club that have put huge faith in him.

For Clarke, his focus will no doubt be on doing the best he can for his current club between now and the end of the season. Beyond that, he looks destined to play in the Premier League one day.

However, should Sunderland be playing in the Championship again next season, there's a chance they could retain Clarke, if a club doesn't pay more than £20m for his services.

If negotiations are to take place between Sunderland and Southampton over the summer, the probability of the transfer happening will depend, ultimately, on where the two clubs are playing their football.

Should Southampton win promotion back to the Premier League and earn big money, this will raise the funds for Clarke and potentially see them go north of the £15m mark.

Right now, both clubs are apart in terms of their valuation of the player, which will scupper any deal.

Sunderland have an ace on their hands, and he's tied down to a contract, meaning they rightly hold the cards. Unless the asking price of over £20m is met, then he will remain their player and any clubs plotting to sign him will face a significant hurdle.