Ipswich Town sign Sunderland winger Jack Clarke for £15 million

The Blues, who were beaten 4-1 by Premier League champions Manchester City earlier this afternoon, had a £15 million bid for the 23-year-old accepted on Thursday evening. The East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star understands that the deal includes up to £5 million in add-ons, of which £3 million is deemed to be realistic. Clarke, who started his career at Leeds United, made a move to Tottenham Hotspur that didn’t work out. He had frustrating loan spells at QPR and Stoke City before making the switch to Sunderland, helping them secure promotion from League One in 2021/22. His return in the Championship has certainly caught the eye, contributing to 43 goals (scored 25, assisted 18) since the start of the 2022/23 campaign. He started in the Black Cats’ first two games of this season, scoring against Cardiff City and registering an assist against Sheffield Wednesday, but he was left out of their 1-0 defeat to Burnley. A target for a number of Premier League and Championship sides, Southampton boss Russell Martin ruled out a move for him earlier in the week. The likes of Wolves, West Ham, Bournemouth and Leeds had been linked as well. “I’m really excited to have joined the club and can’t wait to get going,” Clarke said. “Ipswich have been on a really good trajectory over the last few years and the recruitment this summer has been very impressive, so this was always something I was going to be interested in.  “Speaking with Kieran McKenna really sells the club and the journey it’s on, as well as what they’re still trying to achieve, and you’re almost silly if you don’t want to jump on board with the way things have been going.  “I try to be an exciting player and contribute goals and assists so I think the style of football here will suit me, so I just feel excited to meet the lads and get started now.”  Clarke becomes Ipswich's 10th signing of the summer, following Omari Hutchinson (Chelsea, £18m), Ben Johnson (West Ham, free), Jacob Greaves (Hull City, £15m), Liam Delap (Man City, £15m), Arijanet Muric (Burnley, £8m), Conor Townsend (West Brom, £750k), Sammie Szmodics (Blackburn Rovers, £8m), Kalvin Phillips (Man City, loan) and Jens Cajuste (Napoli, loan).