Sunderland: Jermain Defoe makes surprise Jack Clarke revelation | OneFootball

Jermain Defoe believes that if he was the Sunderland manager he would be able to tempt Jack Clarke to stay at the club this summer.

The former Black Cats striker is said to have had informal chats with the club about the vacant position at the club, but has not been officially interviewed for the role.

Clarke has been the subject of plenty of transfer speculation for much of the current campaign, with plenty of Premier League clubs said to have been vying for his signature for the past 12 months.

Burnley reportedly had an eight-figure bid rejected for the former Tottenham Hotspur man last summer, while the likes of West Ham, Brentford and Crystal Palace are all said to be keen on landing the dazzling wide man.

The 23-year-old has been a shining light on what has been a turbulent season at the Stadium of Light, with his 19 goal contributions helping the Black Cats pick up plenty of points before an ankle injury saw him face a spell on the sidelines in February.

Jermain Defoe comments on Jack Clarke’s future ahead of Sunderland summer of uncertainty

Sunderland are still looking for a new permanent manager as it stands, with the Mackems yet to appoint a successor to Michael Beale after his dismissal over two months ago.

The former QPR boss replaced Tony Mowbray at the Stadium of Light in December, but won just four of his eleven league matches in charge before being shown the door nine weeks later.

That uncertainty won’t be helping in the battle to keep hold of Clarke during the upcoming off-season, with a number of top flight clubs set to reignite their interest once the transfer window reopens.

Despite the amount of interest in the young star, former Black Cats favourite Defoe believes he would be able to keep the winger at the club if he was the person in charge this summer.

“If I was manager, he would stay...” The striker told The Sunderland Echo. “I know Jack Clarke and you never know.

“At the end of the day, he's someone who I knew about from when he was at Leeds and he comes to Tottenham and he's a 1v1 specialist.”

With both Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland as former clubs, Defoe and Clarke have plenty of common, with both players earning themselves a reputation for scoring vital goals during their respective time spent at the Stadium of Light.

Defoe scored 37 times over a two-and-a-half-year spell on Wearside from 2015 to 2017, with his clinical nature in front of goal helping to preserve the side’s Premier League status in the 15/16 campaign.

A volleyed winner against arch-rivals Newcastle United will always be remembered at the Stadium of Light, and the striker believes in Clarke they have a very special player on their hands who could make all the difference if he was kept at the club for the following season.

He continued: “He's one of those players that you don't have to coach. You coach him by giving him the ball and letting him express himself and do what he does.

“You can't really coach players like that. If the club can hold on to him, he'll be amazing. I think for any manager or young coach to work with players like that would obviously be a dream because when you've got good players, it makes your job easier.“

Jack Clarke contract information amid Premier League interest

The good news for Sunderland fans is that Clarke has a contract with the club until the summer fo 2026, meaning the Wearsiders hold all the cards when it comes to a summer transfer for their main star.

The attacker joined the club from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2022 after initially impressing on loan, having previously had temporary spells at Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City.

The playmaker made the move to Spurs as a teenager in 2019, in a deal said to be in the region of £9.5 million, but failed to find regular game time during his time in the capital.

The move to the Stadium of Light has rejuvenated his career, and has left plenty of clubs interested in winning his signature this summer, although the Black Cats will be doing all they can to keep hold of their prized possession ahead of the next campaign.