Sunderland transfer reveal should have Preston North End on red alert: View | OneFootball

Jack Clarke has impressed in the past two seasons at Sunderland, solidifying himself as one of the top performers in the Championship while playing for the Black Cats.

The former Tottenham Hotspur joined the club on a four-year deal in 2022, following a loan deal at the Stadium of Light, and immediately impressed as part of an impressive front three, alongside Amad Diallo and Ross Stewart.

However, the two forwards left the club in the summer, forcing Clarke to take on a more important role as the club's main scorer for this season, a role which he has taken in his stride, despite a change of manager in December.

With 15 goals and four assists in the league already, the former Spurs winger is one of the highest scorers in the league, and will undoubtedly be targeted by a number of top clubs this summer.

Jack Clarke looks likely to leave Sunderland in the summer

It seems likely that Clarke will exit the club in the summer, which will force Sunderland to find a replacement for their top scorer before the start of the new campaign in August.

The forward was linked with a move away from the Black Cats in January, with clubs from both the Premier League and Serie A reportedly interested in signing Clarke.

West Ham and Lazio have been linked with a £20 million move for the forward, and Sunderland will find it hard to turn down that kind of money, especially if their poor form continues following the sacking of manager Mick Beale.

Meanwhile, Clarke's agent, Ian Harte, recently explained to the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast that he hopes Sunderland will sell Clarke in the summer, which is the biggest admission yet that his future may lie outside the Stadium of Light.

"Hopefully this summer we'll probably see Jack moving. Where it may be, we don't know just yet, but he's in a good place," Harte said.

"Last summer Burnley came in and bid to Sunderland to try and take Jack. Sunderland didn't feel the valuation was high enough and they turned it down.

"It's flattering when big Italian teams are coming in and looking at a player like Jack, but the bread and butter is you've got to go out and do it week and week out at Sunderland and hopefully he’ll continue to do that."

Sunderland viewed Liam Millar as a replacement

While Clarke's exit looks a likely one, Sunderland could have a replacement already lined up for their top goalscorer in the summer.

According to Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, Sunderland have been impressed by the Canada international since he returned to England to sign for Preston North End on loan from Basel, and are looking at him as a potential replacement for Clarke in the summer.

This should put Preston on high alert, as they will need to move quickly if they want to make Millar a permanent signing in the summer.

Since joining the club on loan in the summer, the former Liverpool player has scored four times while assisting five goals in 27 matches for the Lilywhites. He has been one of the most impressive wingers in the Championship this season, and could be due for a big move in the future.

With 0.19 goals per 90 minutes and 0.23 assists per 90 minutes, Millar is among the top 10% of forwards for those statistics. He also has the most shots on target per 90 minutes than any other player in the league, with 0.70 per match, as well as 2.05 shots per game.

He has also impressed creatively on loan. Millar creates an average of 1.17 chances per 90 minutes, as well as 0.23 assists and 2.70 successful dribbles in this time. This shows that he is a threat going forward, whether if it is to grab a goal or create a chance for the rest of his team.

While not as effective as Clarke so far, the step-up to a side like Sunderland could help him kick on as a player and improve his attacking output. It must be noted that it is his first season at Preston, so he has not had the time to bed himself into the new league compared to Clarke.

If we compare his stats to Clarke's first year in the Championship, then Millar is much more favourable. During his year on loan at Sunderland, Clarke scored once and assisted three goals for the Black Cats. This was also in League One, which is the division below the one Millar is currently impressing in.

Sunderland will no doubt have the bigger pull when attempting to sign Millar in the summer.

The biggest chance the Lilywhites have is to get the deal done for their on-loan forward before the Black Cats can make an offer, although that may not be possible with Sunderland already interested in the player, who must be aware of the eyes watching him.