Premier League club 'eye' former Leeds United star in blow to Whites' Championship promotion rivals

Former Leeds United winger Jack Clarke could get a second shot at stepping up to the Premier League with reports suggesting Southampton are ‘eyeing’ the Sunderland winger.

Summer work is already underway on the south coast as Southampton plan for their return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Russell Martin’s side broke Leeds hearts on Sunday after Adam Armstrong’s clinical first-half finish secured a 1-0 play-off final win at Wembley, and they will join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the top flight.

A £20million permanent clause in the loan deal for Taylor Harwood-Bellis was activated as soon as promotion was secured but Martin is keen to strengthen across the board in a bid to cement Southampton back in the top-flight. And the Saints boss could look to pluck top talent from the second-tier with the Telegraph reporting on interest in Clarke.

The 23-year-old has just enjoyed his most productive season at Sunderland, registering 15 goals and four assists despite a disappointing overall campaign at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats burned through two permanent managers, ending the campaign with Mike Dodds in interim charge and finishing 16th.

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Clarke has re-established himself as one of the English Football League’s most exciting young talents over three years at Sunderland, having seen development stunted by a premature move to Tottenham Hotspur. The York-born youngster initially broke through during Marcelo Bielsa’s first season in charge at Leeds but a £10m move to north London offered just four first-team appearances and a number of loan moves.

This season has seen links to Premier League clubs intensify and Clarke will now be far better prepared for the demands of top-flight football. He would also be more likely to feature for a bottom-half team like Southampton, who will expect to be fighting to survive in their first season back.

Sunderland will be desperate to keep Clarke and hope to improve on this season’s poor showing to push for promotion. The Black Cats did reach the play-offs last season and with the right manager and solid recruitment, could feasibly do so again. Losing Clarke would be a major blow to those plans, however.

There is still no permanent manager at the Stadium of Light either, with Sunderland among a number of Championship promotion hopefuls facing uncertainty in the dugout. Hull City and Norwich City both sacked their managers after their respective campaigns ended, while Burnley look set to see Vincent Kompany join Bayern Munich and West Brom’s Carlos Corberan has been named as a potential candidate to replace Enzo Maresca at Leicester City.