Everton should return to Sunderland star as goals next season a premium
Clarke is a player that Everton were strongly linked with a year or so ago, and while he has not been plying his trade in the Premier League, the 23-year-old is a talented and promising starlet.
He has produced a strong season of performances for Sunderland in which he bagged fifteen goals and contributed another four assists. Those are decent stats albeit of course in the Championship.
In addition, the young Englishman is a very versatile attacking player who can operate in a number of positions mainly on the left hand side of midfield or behind the strikers.
This would make him a valuable addition to the squad as Sean Dyche is certainly short of numbers now and with the Blues financial problems showing no sign of easing, he is very unlikely to be able to bring in many players this summer.
So, a player who he can switch around and play in three or four different positions is surely going to be very useful.
Everton will almost certainly have to operate in a very tight and constrained transfer situation this summer and so any incoming players will have to be of the sort who are obviously both affordable and offer solutions to several positional issues.
Moreover, the Toffees desperately need more goals, not just from their centre-forwards but from everyone in the team.
Dwight McNeil currently plays in that wide left position usually and while he offers decent creativity from the flanks, his goal return has declined since last season.
Dyche seems to be keen to turn Jack Harrison's loan deal into a permanent one and although the Leeds United player has worked hard and apparently proved a popular character behind the scenes, he is not contributing enough in the final third for me.
The Blues must find a way to bring in players with a bit of pace and ones who can offer that finishing threat in front of goal.
Yes again there is the issue of whether Clarke can step up from the Championship to the Premier League, but I think he would be worth a reasonable punt if available.
Maybe Everton could look for a loan deal, although given how important he is to Sunderland as they try to get back into the top flight, they would probably want a fee upfront.