One of Sunderland’s pieces of January business failed miserably earlier this month as Jermain Defoe announced his retirement from football.
The striker joined the club to bolster their attacking options for the second half of the campaign and has now decided to hang up his boots earlier than expected.
Whilst this is disappointing for the Black Cats and means that he was a wasted signing, the club did pull off at least one brilliant acquisition in January…
Masterclass on Clarke
Kristjaan Speakman pulled off a masterclass as he sealed a dream deal to sign Jack Clarke on loan from Premier League giants Tottenham.
The winger, who Spurs signed for £10m from Leeds in 2019, arrived at the Stadium of Light on loan until the end of the season on the 26th of January.
Ex-Black Cats boss Lee Johnson explained the signing by saying: “The competition for places in our final third is strong and we want to be able to change games as we move into the back end of the season. Jack understands that this is a big club with a lot to play for, but he wants to be an influential player for us and help to ensure we have a successful end to the season.”
Clarke has lived up to the hype so far, albeit under Alex Neil now instead of Johnson, as he has been in impressive form in League One since his arrival. He has an uncanny ability to create space for himself out wide and his play on the ball has been a joy for fans to watch.
Former Premier League forward Noel Whelan previously showered the young forward with praise saying:
“He has got a great ability to glide past players. I don’t think I’ve seen a winger really as talented as that, where it looks effortless, just to take somebody on and he really does get you on the edge of your seat, he’s one of those exciting players.”
In 11 third-tier outings for the club, the ex-Leeds man has created 1.4 chances and completed 1.1 dribbles per game for the Black Cats. This proves that he has the quality, as Whelan explained, to take the ball past opposition players to excite fans and create opportunities in the final third, for both himself and his teammates.
He has also chipped in with one goal to go along with his chance creation, whilst completing 79% of his attempted passes and making 1.2 tackles and interceptions per game. His average SofaScore rating of 6.98 also proves that he has been consistently delivering strong displays as he has maintained a high standard since coming through the door.
Therefore, Speakman pulled off a masterclass by being able to snatch up the winger on loan from a Premier League team in January and it is proving to be a dream deal for the club as it stands.
AND in other news, Forget Defoe: Sunderland must now swoop for teen prodigy with 21 goals in 13 games…
