Since leaving Sunderland in the summer transfer window, Jack Clarke has had a pretty tough time at Ipswich Town. But his fortunes may be changing ever so steadily.
Sunderland finally parted ways with Jack Clarke last summer, after a couple of transfer windows of fending off bids for the former Leeds United and Spurs winger.
In the end, Ipswich Town paid £18million to sign Clarke from the Black Cats. Since then however, it’s been a pretty bleak time for the 24-year-old at Portman Road.
In the Premier League this season, Clarke has played 19 times without scoring, grabbing just two assists. There’s since been a lot of talk about the transfer to Ipswich with former Sunderland man Phil Bardsley critical of Clarke’s move.
Nonetheless, Ipswich still have big hopes and plans for the Englishman. Then in the FA Cup last weekend, Clarke scored a couple of goals for Ipswich Town, netting a brace in the 4-1 win away at Coventry City.
Jack Clarke of Ipswich Town participates in the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town at the City Ground in Nottingham, E…
Former Sunderland star Jack Clarke hailed at Ipswich Town
After scoring those goals against Coventry, a weight will have been lifted off of Clarke. Now, it’ll give Kieran McKenna a decision to make ahead of Ipswich Town’s upcoming Premier league clash against Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, pundit and former Ipswich man Paul Anderson has backed Clarke to feature against Villa from the off. He said: “As attacking players, goals are always that confidence builder, but forget about the goals. If he wouldn’t have scored [against Coventry] he still would have been the difference between the teams.
“With his football intelligence and the positions he was picking up on the pitch, he caused real problems to the Coventry defence. When he got the ball he tended to make the right decision most of the time.
“With a performance like that, he would hope to have put his name on the team sheet against Aston Villa.”
As things stand, Ipswich Town sit in 19th place of the Premier League table and are already 12 points adrift, with just three wins all season and now 14 games left to play.
What Jack Clarke has said about his Ipswich Town form
Clarke scored his first goal for Ipswich Town in the previous FA Cup win over Bristol Rovers. Then after the game, Clarke spoke about his recent form and stated that he hoped his goal would give him some momentum, which it has.
The former Sunderland star said: “That one felt nice and hopefully I can give myself a bit of momentum going into the next few games. I never try and think about it [poor form] too much. As long as you’re doing the right things day in, day out, your luck is going to turn at some point.”
Now, Clarke needs consistency. And he needs to get on the scoresheet in the Premier League and prove to fans that he can cut it in the top flight, not just in the FA Cup against weaker opponents.
Villa is another tricky game for the Tractor Boys. But like Anderson says, Clarke could get his chance on Saturday after impressing against Coventry, and if he takes his chance then it could spark a run of starts for the winger.
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