Mike Dodds raises Sunderland Jack Clarke hopes & doubts transfer 'conclusion'

MIKE Dodds insists it's not a foregone conclusion that Jack Clarke leaves Sunderland this summer - and has warned interested clubs the Black Cats won't budge with their valuation of the in-demand star.

Clubs have tried and failed to sign Clarke in the last two windows and offers feel inevitable this summer on the back of a hugely impressive campaign for the former Leeds and Tottenham winger, who this week scooped Sunderland's Player and Players' Player of the Year awards.

Clarke is moving into the last two years of his contract at the Stadium of Light, so while that puts Sunderland in a position of power, it also means there are probably only two windows remaining until the Black Cats risk losing the 23-year-old for less than they'd wish.

With that in mind, Clarke's exit this summer has felt extremely likely since the January window - but Dodds insists that's not necessarily the case.

"The Jack situation, I don't really read the stuff online so I don't know what the narrative is," he said.

"I'll be really intrigued in terms of the Jack situation because he still has a long period on his contract. I know there was a lot of interest last summer, which the club didn't feel was anywhere near their valuation, so it will be a really interesting summer. I'm not going to get drawn into Jack and the summer and what the football club wants or Jack wants. But I don't feel it is as completely foregone if that makes sense in terms of Jack is going to leave the football club.

"He has a length on his contract and the club have demonstrated they won't be letting anyone go for cheap, so there will be some to-ing and fro-ing if clubs are interested."

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Clarke enjoyed a blistering start to the Championship season, scoring nine goals before the end of October. He's since added six more and although his campaign was disrupted by an ankle injury, he remains one of the most sought-after stars in the Championship. Dodds is a big fan of the winger, but says he still needs to improve significantly to make the step up to the Premier League again.

Dodds said: "Jack would be a positive of the recruitment model. He came in on loan initially and took a while to settle but at the back end of the League One season he was very good.

"Then we got to the summer and Jack didn't come in immediately. He joined us halfway through the trip to Portugal. It wasn't like he came in straight away, but he's gone from strength to strength.

"He's got huge potential. He's still a young man and there's still a lot that he needs to work on and there's still a huge amount of his game he needs to be better at. If we're talking about him moving on and going to the Premier League, that's not just one step, it's five steps. We're talking about the best league in the world, so there's still a huge amount he needs to improve and get better at.

"But he's a good kid. He's a unique character, he moans about absolutely everything but you can live with the moaning if he produces the numbers he's produced.

"It will be an interesting summer, my personal opinion is I just don't think the conclusion is Jack is going to leave the football club, because he's got a lengthy contract and the club have demonstrated they're not going to let players go for anything less than what they think is value. It's going to be an interesting summer."