Whilst Sunderland battle to keep hold of Jack Clarke amid interest from the Premier League this month, Michael Beale could land a player of his own from the top flight, and get one over on their Championship rivals in the process.
Sunderland transfer news
Sunderland’s biggest concern will be losing one of their star players in the January transfer window, with West Ham’s Clarke links not going away anytime soon. The Hammers have reportedly made an approach to sign the winger and are joined in their interest by both Crystal Palace and Brentford. Valued at between £15m and £20m, Sunderland will hope to fend off any interest in the 26-year-old.
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If Clarke does complete a move away from The Stadium of Light, the Black Cats will have to turn their attention towards attacking reinforcements fairly quickly, as the transfer window progresses. Their Kieffer Moore and Sam Gallagher links suggest that Sunderland are eyeing a move for a forward this month, but their eventual solution could yet come in the form of a Premier League loan move, as per reports.
According to HITC, Sunderland are eyeing a move for John McAtee on loan from Luton Town this month. The young forward is currently on loan at Barnsley, but the Hatters are reportedly ready to cut his loan move short in favour of sending him to a higher level. With Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle all interested too, it could be quite the battle for McAtee’s signature this month.
“Excellent” McAtee can hand Sunderland Clarke solution
In Sunderland’s ideal world, they manage to add to Beale’s squad this month whilst keeping hold of Clarke in pursuit of Premier League promotion. But, in the worst case scenario, McAtee could step in to replace the goals of the winger.
Clarke’s goal tally of 12 in all competitions is impressive when considering his wide role, yet the Luton man would offer the Black Cats a different style. A player with the ability to play both as an out-and-out striker and an attacking midfielder, McAtee’s numbers have been equally as impressive as Clarke’s. The forward has scored nine goals and assisted a further three in all competitions for Barnsley this season.
Barnsley’s loanee has shown signs that he is ready to step up to the Championship, and sitting inside the play-off places by just one point, the Black Cats could benefit from Luton’s desire to see McAtee playing at a higher level. If they manage to keep hold of Clarke, meanwhile, then they could form quite the partnership in England’s second tier in a crucual few months.
McAtee has certainly impressed Barnsley boss Neill Collins this season, who praised the forward for his display in a 2-1 victory over Stevenage. Collins said via the Barnsley Chronicle: “It was a fantastic goal. He ran in behind like we asked him to do. It was similar to Callum Styles at Northampton. John has been excellent.”
