Why Tottenham should turn down West Brom loan for Jack Clarke
According to the London Evening Standard, Tottenham winger Jack Clarke is the subject of interest from Premier League newcomers West Brom. They are looking to add more depth to their attacking ranks following their promotion to the top-flight.
However, as per the source, Jose Mourinho is willing to offer the 19-year-old a chance to prove himself in the Premier League next season. However, a loan move could also be in the offing for the England U20 ace.
Profile
Clarke rose through the youth ranks at Leeds United before breaking into the first-team picture at Elland Road during the 2018-19 season in the Championship. The highly-rated Whites graduate made 25 league appearances that term, only 4 of which were starts. He impressed with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Tottenham then completed a £10m deal back in the summer of 2019. Clarke was immediately loaned back to Leeds to continue his development. But the Lilywhites recalled him midway through his loan spell after Marcelo Bielsa failed to hand him a single league start during the first half of the previous campaign.
The youngster was subsequently loaned out to QPR for the remainder of the campaign but things hardly took a turn in the positive direction as Clarke made only 6 substitute appearances, clocking up just 140 minutes of league action for Mark Warburton’s side.
Tottenham need to be careful with Clarke’s development
Despite the report suggesting that Mourinho is prepared to offer Clarke a chance to prove his worth, it’s hard to see how the youngster would play regularly in North London next season.
Tottenham have some quality attackers like Heung-min Son, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela, and Steven Bergwijn, all of whom can operate down the flanks. So Clarke’s prospects of playing first-team football under the Portuguese tactician look bleak.
Clarke needs regular minutes to continue his development in the right direction and a loan deal would probably be in the best interests of both the player and the club. To that end, though, Tottenham need to be careful regarding the choice of Clarke’s next loan destination. Loaning him out to a Premier League club might be a step too far at this moment.
Clarke hardly has a lot of Championship experience under his belt and that’s a key reason why playing regularly at a promoted PL club like West Brom could be a massive challenge for him.
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Verdict
Suffice to say, Tottenham need to ensure that Clarke gets regular minutes to hone his skills no matter where he goes out on loan. He isn’t really going to be a starter at any PL club after failing to start a single league game in the second-tier last term.
Hence, the Lilywhites might be better off looking at potential suitors for the youngster in the Championship.
