The decline of Jack Clarke’s career since leaving Leeds United came to a head last week as his loan move to Sunderland was announced.
Still only 21, the young winger is trying to rediscover the form he showed at Elland Road which earned him a £10m move to Tottenham in 2019.
In the two and a half years since he joined Spurs, he has made just four senior appearances and is yet to start for the club.
Go here for all the latest Leeds United news and opinion
The loan move to the Black Cats is his fourth temporary spell away from North London since the summer of 2019 season and is likely to be his final chance at securing a future at Tottenham.
It is a real shame to see Clarke struggling to impress after looking so good for the Whites during the 2018/19 campaign.
Leeds fans were gutted to see him being linked with a move away at the time but ever since agreeing the deal, it has looked a fantastic piece of business conducted by Victor Orta.
An interesting exchange between two supporters has been dug out on the r/Leeds United thread on reddit which just shows how the trajectories of Clarke and Patrick Bamford’s careers have changed in the last couple of years.
Reacting to the news of Spurs’ interest in the youngster, whiterose616 ironically asked: “Are Spurs sure they don’t want Bamford instead?”
Since that exchange, the Leeds striker has gone on to establish himself as a real hero at Elland Road where he has backed up his goalscoring from the Championship in the Premier League.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of Bamford’s importance to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad is how much his team mates have struggled to replicate his impact in the frontline while he has been injured this season.
After scoring 17 Premier League goals on Leeds’ top-flight return, the England international has played just six matches this term where he has been able to score twice and add two assists.
Dan James and Tyler Roberts have been largely tried as his replacement in the starting XI but Joe Gelhardt is the only one who has been able to show anything that resembles an attacking presence.
But, like Bamford, the 19-year-old now has an injury of his own to contend with. Upon the pair’s return, Leeds will have a much better chance of extending the distance between themselves and the relegation zone as the goals will surely begin to flow again.
For the latest Leeds United news direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter
