Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly bid for Leeds United youngster Jack Clarke already this summer.
With reports last month suggesting that an eight-figure bid had been made for Jack Clarke, Leeds fans would be forgiven for feeling that it is going to be a long summer and fearing that his departure had a sense of inevitably about it.
The Daily Mail claimed that Tottenham had offered £10 million for the dazzling winger. And having reportedly monitored him since his debut against Brentford in late 2018, it would be little surprise if Mauricio Pochettino was in pole position to sign the teenager.
Clarke looks to have the potential to be one of the best graduates to emerge from an academy that in the last two decades has produced the likes of Fabian Delph, Lewis Cook and James Milner, who, of course, became a Champions League winner at the weekend.
But it is perhaps because of that Champions League win that Leeds could have received a boost as they look to keep hold of Clarke beyond this summer.
Like plenty of Spurs fans, Pochettino must surely feel that the club’s priority in the transfer market has now got to be marquee additions who are ready to make an immediate impact in the first-team following their 2-0 defeat in Madrid.
The work he has done at Tottenham has been remarkable and they have every right to reflect upon this season as being an overwhelming success. But if they are going to clear that final hurdle and get the trophies that they deserve, they arguably need to be ruthless and consider upgrades for some of their established stars.
Clarke is a talent. But right now, he is not an upgrade on what Spurs already have having spent the final weeks of this past campaign much closer to the periphery of the Leeds squad.
If Pochettino is given his dream budget, then perhaps there will be scope to meet Leeds’ demands for the winger. But if the transfer kitty is only big enough to sign a handful of players, then Clarke should arguably be one of the names that he crosses off the shortlist for the time-being.
Spurs will almost definitely not be the only club sniffing around the youngster this summer. But if they pull out of the race to focus their attention on bigger names in the wake of their final defeat, Leeds may certainly be a lot more confident about keeping one of their brightest prospects.
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