Tottenham Hotspur loanee Jack Clarke made his first league start in almost two years on Friday night.
The 20-year-old, who joined Spurs from Leeds United for £10 million in the summer of 2019, signed for Stoke City on a half-season loan a little earlier this month.
And City boss Michael O’Neill handed the Tottenham winger a start in last night’s visit of Watford, though it ended in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts.
Clarke’s last competitive start in a league game – Championship or Premier League – came for Leeds way back in February of 2019.
And all things considered, he gave a fine account of himself against the Hornets last night and even highlighted some of his growing confidence by deftly controlling the ball and executing some mid-match kick-ups at one point.
Here’s how some Tottenham fans reacted to his display on Twitter:
Clarke clearly has a big future and it’s been reported that Spurs boss Jose Mourinho is personally a fan of him.
But he has a lot of work to do before he’s anywhere near being ready for the North Londoners’ senior squad.
Two failed loan spells with Leeds and QPR last term mean that he absolutely must make the most of his time at Stoke and so far, so good.
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