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Jose Mourinho is reportedly about to loan Tottenham Hotspur’s Jack Clarke out to Championship side Stoke City.
According to Football London, a move to the second-tier club could be finalised as early as today.
Clarke cost Tottenham £10 million when they signed him from Leeds United 18 months ago, but he hasn’t been able to break into Jose Mourinho’s first-team plans in North London on a regular basis.
But the report adds that Mourinho has been impressed by the 20-year-old and has long-term plans for him, starting with this move.
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There’s quite a bit of pressure on Clarke to succeed at Stoke.
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Leeds re-signed him on loan at the start of last season but he struggled in a big way and barely made a Championship appearance, before then failing to impress at QPR during the second half of the campaign after the Elland Road club terminated the agreement last January.
There is undoubtedly a lot of potential there but, at 20, he needs to start showing it and a third-successive damp squib of a loan in the Championship might just start to worry the higher-ups with the Lilywhites.
Because if he’s struggling at that level, it doesn’t bode well for his capacity to rip up the Premier League in the future.
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