Premier League club 'target' Leeds United academy graduate as Whites set to miss sell-on clause windfall

Twenty-three-year-old Clarke has starred for the Black Cats in the Championship this season, scoring 12 times in 26 matches. The ex-Leeds man has also picked up two assists for Mick Beale's side, who were knocked out of the FA Cup at the Third Round by bitter north-east rivals Newcastle United at the weekend.

Sky claim West Ham are interested in the winger's services and have a track record of plucking promising talent from the EFL after the signings of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City and Said Benrahma from Brentford in the past. The player remains contracted at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2026, suggesting the Hammers would need to part with a sizeable sum to sign the York-born attacker during this transfer window.

Burnley reportedly saw an initial £7 million bid - rising to £10 million with add-ons - turned down by the Black Cats last summer, indicating the club's valuation is north of that figure.

Leeds are unlikely to receive anything in the way of a sell-on fee if Clarke departs as the player was sold by Tottenham Hotspur to Sunderland in July 2022, at which point any clause negotiated during his Elland Road exit was either paid or expired. Spurs, on the other hand, would reportedly receive a windfall courtesy of 'an unspecified sell-on clause' inserted into the deal which took him to the Stadium of Light.

Clarke emerged as a teenager at Leeds during the 2018/19 campaign and was subsequently sold for a fee in the region of £9 million to Spurs after just 25 senior appearances for his boyhood club. A difficult period in North London saw the young winger spend time on loan with Stoke City, QPR and eventually Sunderland, whom he joined on a permanent deal, where he has begun to thrive, scoring 21 Championship goals since the beginning of last season.

Should Clarke leave for the Premier League during the January transfer window, Sunderland's play-off and promotion bid would be considerably weakened. The north-east club are currently sixth in the Championship table, eight points behind Leeds in fourth.