Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has confirmed that Lee Johnson wanted to sign Jonson Clarke-Harris for Sunderland before his sacking at the League One outfit, speaking on Twitter.
Would Johnson still be in a job if Clarke-Harris was leading the line at the Stadium of Light?
Well, that’s probably too simplistic a question. The answer, as ever, is a little more complicated.
It’s not as if Sunderland have struggled for goals for much of this season after all. In Ross Stewart, the so-called ‘Loch Ness Drogba’, the Black Cats have one of the division’s most effective frontman in their ranks.
Only one team in the division, table-topping Rotherham United, have scored more than Sunderland (56). In reality, their problems lie at the other end of the pitch.
In 32 games, Sunderland have conceded 44 times. Compare that with Rotherham (18) and you can see why a side now coached by Alex Neil have slipped 13 points adrift of the league leaders.
Can Sunderland still seal promotion?
In the last few days, MacAnthony has confirmed Sunderland’s interest in two Peterborough United players.
Clarke-Harris certainly would have been the more glamorous of the two – he won League One’s Golden Boot with 31 goals last term after all. But perhaps Mark Beevers – an experienced and battle-hardened centre-half – would have been the more useful addition to Johnson’s squad.
MacAnthony admitted last week that Johnson tried to sign Beevers on deadline-day. The fact that Sunderland made their interest known days after a 6-0 drubbing at Bolton Wanderers is surely no coincidence.
Unless both Peterborough and Sunderland can arrest their current slides, they will be going toe-to-toe with each other in England’s third tier next season.
Clarke-Harris has been unable to replicate his League One form at Championship level. A tally of of five goals in 25 games doesn’t exactly justify a rumoured £6 million price-tag.
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