Leeds United icon and agent of £10m ex-Whites star details contract stand-off amid injury update
Ian Harte, previously a left-back for Leeds United, is now acting as Jack Clarke’s agent and has hinted at the possibility of the winger leaving Sunderland during the upcoming summer transfer window.
After a successful loan spell with Sunderland in League One, Clarke made a permanent move to the club in the summer of 2022. However, his progress was hampered when he left Leeds United for Tottenham in 2019, with Leeds receiving around £10 million for the transfer.
Despite Clarke’s impressive tally of 15 goals, which places him among the top scorers in the Championship, his season was disrupted by ankle ligament damage that has kept him sidelined since February. Speculation about his future has intensified recently, especially with Harte revealing that Clarke has turned down new contract offers.
Harte, who represented Leeds United 288 times between 1995 and 2004 before transitioning into agent work, disclosed that there has been interest from clubs, including Lazio, who made a bid of €14 or €15 million with €4 million in add-ons during the January window. However, Sunderland deemed the offer insufficient.
Clarke still has two years remaining on his contract with Sunderland, but his future will depend on potential offers from other clubs and whether they meet his and Sunderland’s expectations. Additionally, it’s noted that Clarke had clauses in his contract stipulating that if he played a certain number of games at the start of the season, he would be eligible for a new deal, though the terms offered were deemed inadequate.
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