Nottingham Forest may have been alerted by Leeds United’s positive reaction to Tottenham loanee Jack Clarke’s positive growth at the Yorkshire-based side, as per Football Insider.
The Tricky Trees have been named as a potential suitor for the teenager in recent weeks, however the latest coming out of Elland Road may put a dent in the club having any chance of turning those links into reality.
The report claims that despite Clarke not having made a mark on the pitch for the Peacocks, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has held one-to-one talks with the youngster and has told him he’s happy with the forward’s progress.
Clarke signed for Tottenham this past summer when the club was under former boss Mauricio Pochettino. But the Englishman was loaned back to Leeds once he joined the Premier League giants.
So far, Clarke is yet to make a single first-team appearance in the Championship for the club. Despite that, Bielsa has expressed his joy at how the Nottingham Forest-linked man is doing so far.
Frustration ensues
Clarke had joined Spurs from Leeds themselves this past summer for a fee of £11.5million. He was the club’s first summer signing this term, arriving before Pochettino could lay his hands on Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso.
This season though, Clarke would have been left frustrated by how things have gone at Elland Road. It is in stark contrast to the previous campaign. He is yet to play even once in the Championship, playing twice for Bielsa’s men in the League Cup. He started the game which saw Leeds pick up a 3-0 win over newly-promoted League Two side Salford City.
As far as last season goes, the teenager had played 22 times in the Championship under the Argentine. He had scored twice and had a tally of two assists too, also featuring twice in the play-offs and once in the FA Cup.
Last season was Clarke’s first full campaign in the first-team, but the 18-year-old has played regularly for the England Under-20s so far this term. His debut came in September this year and he was involved in their recent 4-0 win over Portugal Under-20s as well. In total, he has featured four times for the young Lions.
TIF Tactics
As far as Clarke’s links with Forest go, he would certainly add some depth and youthful exuberance to the side.
Forest have scored the sixth-lowest number of goals in the Championship this season. That isn’t a good enough number for a side that is fifth in the league and intends to achieve promotion into the Premier League.
With the international distractions out of the way, games will come thick and fast. A side like Forest would need extra depth in the attacking areas to score more goals than they already have.
If Bielsa really believes Clarke is improving, he would be a welcome addition to the Forest side, despite the possibility of signing him becoming difficult. Joe Lolley, Albert Adomah, Sammy Ameobi are the side’s options in wide areas – something that could well earn some replenishment of youth. Clarke provides just that.