West Ham United move in to sign Sunderland forward Jack Clarke as transfer scramble starts
West Ham are one of several Premier League clubs involved in a scramble to try and sign Sunderland winger Jack Clarke, according to The Mirror.
The newspaper has reported in its print edition (page 53, 11 January) that the Hammers have now moved in to sign Clarke, but face competition from Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and Brentford for the 23-year-old’s signature.
David Moyes’ side are under pressure to bring in attacking reinforcements after losing both Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta to injury, with the latter set to miss up to six weeks, while Mohammed Kudus is away with Ghana at the African Cup of Nations.
It leaves the Hammers incredibly short of attacking options, and while Clarke has caught the eye with his fine displays this season, Sunderland are under no pressure to sell.
Difficult
This won’t be a straightforward deal to get across the line, especially not in January.
While West Ham shouldn’t fear competition from the likes of Sheffield United, Palace and Brentford due to their ability to offer European football, which would likely make them the most attractive option, it is whether or not Sunderland wants to play ball which could cause an issue.
Clarke has been one of the top-performing players for the Black Cats this season, leading their goalscoring charts with 12 strikes in the Championship.
Sunderland currently occupy one of the play-off places, sitting sixth in the table, and will be reluctant to sell their star man as they target a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Moyes will be keen to raid his former side, although it would likely require a significant fee. However, with the current injury crisis facing the Scot, that fee might need to be paid if the club want to keep their impressive season so far on track.
In other West Ham news, three clubs have approached the Hammers about the prospect of signing one of their Brazillian players in January.