Jack Clarke’s much-hyped £20 million transfer from Sunderland to Ipswich Town last summer has not gone as planned. While Clarke’s time at Sunderland saw him shine in the Championship with impressive goal contributions, his Premier League adventure with Ipswich has been less than stellar.
Despite his potential, Clarke has struggled to establish himself under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich, starting only 11 of 28 Premier League appearances and failing to score in the top flight. The 24-year-old has contributed four assists but has yet to find the back of the net in the Premier League.
As Ipswich faces relegation, Sunderland is eyeing a return to the Premier League, leading to speculation that Clarke might regret his move. FLW reached out to Sunderland fan pundit, Jordan Newcombe, to weigh in on whether Clarke might feel he made the wrong decision.
“I think he probably will [regret leaving Sunderland for Ipswich],” Jordan said. “He’ll have gotten Premier League wages but hasn’t scored a Premier League goal, and it hasn’t clicked for him. He might regret it, especially if we swap leagues next year, because he went there for a Premier League career and they were only there for one year.”
Jordan also argued that Clarke may have reached his ceiling in the Premier League. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right club for him to move to, but I suppose it could be a telling sign that that was his level. The gap between the Premier League and Championship is so much now that you can’t just have a good player in the Championship automatically be good in the Premier League.”
Despite the setbacks, Clarke, still young at 24, has plenty of time to rebuild his career. His remarkable skill at Championship level, combined with his ability to create chances, suggests he could still be a major asset for Ipswich next season—provided he stays at the club.
