“Speaks for itself” – Ipswich Town winger Jack Clarke backed to repeat Sunderland antics in 2025-26 Championship.
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features personal opinions from FLW Fan Pundits on breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more.
Ipswich Town fought valiantly in the Premier League this season, but they did not earn enough points to secure their place for the 2025-26 season.
With only three games remaining in their season, the Tractor Boys have won just four times, including victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Kieran McKenna, on the other hand, was unable to extract any consistency from his squad, which had been assembled at a high cost over the summer and in January.
| List Of Ipswich Town Signings For Fees 2024-25 Season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Club Signed From | Fee (Initial Only) |
| Jaden Philogene | Aston Villa | £20m |
| Omari Hutchinson | Chelsea | £20m |
| Jacob Greaves | Ipswich Town | £15m |
| Liam Delap | Man City | £15m |
| Jack Clarke | Sunderland | £15m |
| Dara O’Shea | Burnley | £12m |
| Sammie Szmodics | Blackburn Rovers | £9m |
| Aro Muric | Burnley | £8m |
| Chiedozie Ogbene | Luton Town | £8m |
| Alex Palmer | West Brom | £2m |
| Conor Townsend | West Brom | £750k |
| TOTAL | £124.75m | |
Ipswich Town: Jack Clarke tipped to shine amid Tractor Boys relegation
Clarke has yet to score in league action for Ipswich as the season comes to a close, but he has four assists despite starting only 11 of his 29 games.
When asked if Clarke will live up to his price tag and hype next season, FLW’s Tractor Boys fan pundit Adam Wilkin believes the dynamic winger could be one of the club’s leading players in 2025-26 now that he is dropping down a level.
“I think Jack Clarke could be one of, if not our best player next season,” Adam told the Tampa Bay Times.
“He struggled at first because at Sunderland, he played high and wide on the left, which is where Leif Davis prefers to play in our system, and in those early games, they were both in nearly identical positions, attempting to do the same thing.
“So, I believe he had to adapt his game for the first three to four months, and he may not have played as much in the first half of the season. Sammie Szmodics was also playing and scoring goals at the time, making it difficult to replace someone in that situation.
“He may not have scored a goal, but he is our top assister in the Premier League with four – many of those have come near the end of the season, and in the last third of the season, I believe he has looked like the player we thought we were signing at the start of the season.
“Whether it’s the step up to the Premier League, or the adjustment to the system and what he’s being asked to do, I think he’s one of the signings from last season that I have the most faith in for next year, and his record at Sunderland last year speaks for itself.
“So, hopefully he can hit similar sort of numbers, and I think he will probably be our first choice in that ‘left 10’ role.”
Jack Clarke could dominate the Championship if he replicates Sunderland performances for Ipswich Town.
There was a reason Clarke paid the fee he did: he performed well for Sunderland in 2023-24.
He was a nightmare for Championship full-backs at times, and he was well worth the step up to the Premier League; however, it hasn’t happened in the way he had hoped.
There will be many reasons for this, including not playing the role he was used to with the Black Cats, but when Ipswich drop to the Championship next season, they will be one of the favourites rather than an underdog, and they will most likely be a more attacking, front-footed force.
And if Sunderland stay in the division despite losing in the play-offs, they may be haunted by their former star, who is about to embark on what promises to be a huge year for his career.
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