Tottenham Hotspur not loaning Jack Clarke back to Leeds United would be a mistake

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Tottenham Hotspur are trying to buy Jack Clarke from Leeds United this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur will be making a mistake if they don’t agree to loan Jack Clarke back to Leeds United for next season.

The London Evening Standard claims that Tottenham want to keep Clarke after signing him and allow him to compete for a first-team place next season, rather than sending him back to Leeds on loan.

It was initially thought that Leeds would take Clarke on loan, but it seems that Tottenham will keep him around.

That may well not be the best option for Clarke’s development, if he does move to Spurs though.

Anybody who watched Clarke regularly at Leeds could see a player with great potential, but also one who is very raw.

Clarke’s performances towards the end of the campaign were poor, and he rather lost his way.

Tottenham may need more attacking options, but whether Clarke is capable of stepping up to perform a first team role at White Hart Lane is up for debate.

Spurs have the likes of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura who are far from guaranteed starters, when all their other attacking options are fit, but they are ahead of Clarke right now.

Clarke will still develop at Tottenham just by spending time around so many quality players and through working on the training pitch with Mauricio Pochettino.

But a move back to Leeds may well have benefitted his development more.

Leeds are managed by the brilliant Marcelo Bielsa, and Clarke would surely have played regularly at Elland Road next term if he had stuck around.

And Spurs may actually regret not moving Clarke out on loan immediately, as a year longer at Leeds could have made him far more ready to make the step up into Tottenham’s first-team.