Tony Mowbray's Sunderland claim may have Crystal Palace, Burnley and Brentford on alert: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Jack Clarke has been the key player for Sunderland and Tony Mowbray so far this season in the Championship.

The winger scored nine goals and claimed a further 12 assists in Championship and play-off matches last season upon Sunderland's return to the second tier.

He has been a key cog in Sunderland flying up the table quickly from League One, taking huge strides forward in his personal development in the process.

He was always likely to have interest from teams higher up the footballing ladder, and is a Premier League player in terms of his quality already. However, it may take a major offer to come in, as it's hard to see a world where the Black Cats would reject it.

Who is Jack Clarke?

Clarke was signed permanently last summer from Tottenham Hotspur, following a successful initial loan spell with Sunderland in League One. He is under contract at the Stadium of Light until 2026.

He moved at a very young age from Leeds United to Spurs which cost a reported £10million with add-ons, but it was not a successful transfer, prompting them to loan him to second tier clubs to recapture that early potential.

QPR and Stoke City were two of those before he moved to League One with Sunderland, and Spurs eventually chose to cut their losses on him entirely to move to the North East permanently.

The forward has continued where he left off from last season and contributed nine goals and one assist to Tony Mowbray’s side as they sit seventh in the table.

The Black Cats will be aiming to compete for promotion to the Premier League again this year, having finished sixth in their first season back in the division last term, and Clarke should be at the heart of things again.

What's Tony Mowbray said about Clarke's Sunderland future?

Back in the summer, Sunderland rejected a bid of £10m from newly promoted Burnley for the 22-year-old winger, hoping to hold onto Clarke in order to boost their promotion chances.

However, the Wearside outfit’s manager has not closed the door on a potential exit in January for Clarke, via the Mirror, he said: "He is a wonderful talent.

"We had bids for him and we will have to see what the club’s thought patterns are in January.

"How many can he get this season? If we can play really positive like we are now and have attacking moments, then Jack is devastating."

According to Football Insider, Sunderland set an asking price worth £15 million for Clarke in the previous window, but further good performances could have seen that rise since then.

There has been reported interest from Brentford and Crystal Palace, whilst Football League World have also been informed that the Premier League pair were also joined by Burnley, Everton, Rangers, and Wolves in the race over the summer.

However, the latest update from Mowbray may have handed these sides a chance of reviving a deal in January, with Burnley a side who have been particularly keen alongside Brentford and Crystal Palace.

The Clarets have an abundance of wide attackers but none have hit the heights of Nathan Tella last season, and perhaps Clarke is the man to take that position and make it his own.

Crystal Palace have not adequately replaced Wilfried Zaha following his summer switch to Galatasaray, whilst Brentford are still without Ivan Toney and have been finding other attacking solutions this season so far.