Stoke City failed to get the best out of 2021 loan signing who excelled at Sunderland
Stoke City have never seriously challenged the Championship play-off positions since suffering relegation from the Premier League back in 2018.
In fact, since returning to the second tier, the Potters have never managed a top-half finish, much to the disappointment of supporters who must yearn for their club’s top-flight days.
After dropping back into the Championship, the West Midlands outfit have also made their fair share of notable signings, such as that of former Swansea City man Sam Clucas, who joined the Potters ahead of the 2018/19 season.
But one player who did not make the best account of himself during his Stoke days was 2021 loan signing Jack Clarke, who now plies his trade in the Premier League for Ipswich Town.
The winger has had somewhat of a mixed footballing career to date, after first bursting onto the scene with boyhood club Leeds United as a teenager.
He notably scored the Whites’ first goal of the game on 23rd December 2018, when they trailed Aston Villa 2-0 at half-time, and went on to win 3-2 courtesy of Kemar Roofe’s late strike.
In total, he notched two goals and two assists for the West Yorkshire outfit during the 2018/19 Championship campaign, which was enough to convince Premier League Tottenham Hotspur to snap up his services for a fee of £10m the following summer.
As part of the deal, he returned to the Whites on loan for the 2019/20 season, but he made just three appearances for the Elland Road side before being deployed on loan to Queens Park Rangers.
By January 2021, Clarke had made three senior appearances for Spurs, with two outings in the Europa League, and one in the FA Cup, so the Potters were keen to allow his talent to shine through in the Championship, and secured his services on loan.
However, during his 14 appearances on loan with the West Midlands side, he did not manage to score a single goal, as the Potters failed to get the best out of him.
