QPR and Stoke City supporters may have been surprised by eight-figure Ipswich Town transfer: View | OneFootball

The winger's recent form has earned him a Premier League move, but he didn't always thrive in the Championship

The 2024 summer transfer window has been an eventful and exciting one for Ipswich Town.

Following their promotion to the Premier League from the Championship at the end of last season, the Tractors Boys have been busy putting together a squad they hope can compete in the top-flight.

As a result, they managed to make a total of 12 new additions to Kieran McKenna's squad before the window closed.

One of the last of those to complete a move to Portman Road this summer, was Jack Clarke.

Ipswich spent big on Jack Clarke

With just under a week remaining until the window closed, Ipswich announced late last month that they had completed the signing of Clarke from Championship side Sunderland.

It was reported that the East Anglia outfit had paid the Black Cats an initial £15million for the signing of the winger.

That deal is also thought to have the potential to rise by a further £5million depending on add-ons, with the 23-year-old signing a five-year contract at Portman Road.

Clarke has since already made two appearances for Ipswich, starting their Carabao Cup clash with AFC Wimbledon, before coming off the bench against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

But while that was happening, it could be argued that those with connections to two of Sunderland's own Championship rivals, may have been watching on with more than a sense of surprise.

Jack Clarke struggled for QPR and Stoke City

Admittedly, there can be no denying that on the basis of his performances for the Black Cats, Clarke's move to the Premier League is merited.

The winger excelled during his stay at the Stadium of Light, becoming one of the most dynamic and dangerous attackers in the Championship.

Indeed, he played a key role in Sunderland's run to the play-offs during the 2022/23 season, though things had not always been that way for him, even in the second-tier, as QPR and Stoke well know.

After coming through the youth ranks at Leeds United, Clarke was sold to Tottenham in the summer of 2019, before being loaned back to Elland Road for the 2019/20 season.

While he had played a regular part for the Whites in the season before his sale to Spurs, the winger struggled for game time after returning on loan.

As a result, his second stint with Leeds was terminated early, something QPR took advantage of in the 2020 January transfer window.

At that point, the winger's potential looked to make him an exciting signing for the R's, although in the end, those at Loftus Road failed to really see any of that.

During his time with QPR, Clarke made just six Championship appearances, all of which were as a substitute, without making an impact in front of goal.

As a result, after his stay with the Hoops ended in the summer of 2020, the winger was unable to get into the Spurs side, and was loaned back to the Championship in January 2021, joining Stoke.

Again though, Clarke would struggle to make an impact, making 14 Championship appearances for the Potters across the course of the campaign.

During that time he was again unable to make himself a regular in the starting XI - being named in a league lineup just six times - and never found the net for the club.

His loan spell at the bet365 Stadium was then ended prematurely by an Achilles injury in April 2021.

It was only when he got his permanent move to Sunderland in the summer of 2022 - after a relatively quiet loan spell with the Black Cats earlier that year - that Clarke really showed his quality.

From there, the winger has now been able to get to the level where he is earning himself a return to the Premier League through his own performances.

Even so, back when he was playing for QPR and Stoke, there is a good chance that given how he fared there, fans of those clubs may have thought that opportunity may never have come for Clarke again.