Why Leeds United decided against signing Jack Clarke as winger completes £20m Ipswich move — Leeds United News 25/8/24

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Will Butcher

Leeds United were strongly linked with a move to re-sign Jack Clarke from Sunderland earlier this month but the winger has chosen to join newly-promoted Premier League side Ipswich Town.

Clarke, 23, was widely-renowned as one of the best wingers in The Championship prior to his exit from Sunderland. Clocking up 51 goals in 114 games for Sunderland, he helped them return to the second tier.

Sunderland have made an excellent start to life in the Championship, with two wins and two clean sheets from the opening two games against Cardiff and then Sheffield Wednesday in which Clarke played both.

But he was missing from the weekend’s 1-0 with over Burnley, even with Sunderland going down to 10 men on 85 minutes. Clarke completed a move to Ipswich, costing an initial £15m plus £5m in add-ons.

It was clear that Leeds would always have to pay £20m to sign Clarke, with Clarke described as the perfect replacement for Crysencio Summerville. But he has ended up at Ipswich and in the Premier League.

The Sunderland Echo now explain why Leeds did not sign the winger and it is simply that Leeds could not ‘afford’ to pay the required £15m plus £5m in add-ons fee to land Clarke’s signature from Sunderland.

The Whites have sorted their lack of options in attack. With Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter, Jaidon Anthony and others leaving this Leeds side compared to last season, players have now come in.

The likes of Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon, while the return of Brenden Aaronson, have left Leeds in a much better place than they were when the club confirmed the sale of Rutter to Brighton this week.

The worry is, that if Ramazani and Solomon struggle in a Leeds shirt, fans will ask what if regarding Clarke. There is a world where paying a little extra to meet Sunderland’s demands might have made sense.

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