Sunderland were promoted to the EFL Championship after winning the playoffs last season. Most of the teams look to survive in the top leagues after getting promotions. However, things have been a bit different at the Stadium of Light, as Sunderland are closer to the playoff places than the relegation zone. The Black Cats sit 11th in the league table, thanks to some of their young talents. One of the players who has actively contributed to this success is 22-year-old forward, Jack Clarke. He is a former Leeds United academy graduate who was signed by Tottenham Hotspur. The forwards failed to make a mark at the London club and spent a little time away on loan. Now he is a Sunderland player, and he is leading his side’s charge. We look at some of the stats of the forward that show how he is making a name for himself.
A debut full season in the Championship
After making a permanent move to Sunderland, Jack Clarke was guaranteed gametime for his new side. He has appeared in 37 league games in the EFL Championship and has the most goal contributions for his side. The heatmap of Clarke shows that he plays as a left winger and as an attacking midfielder. He likes to stay wide and has taken most of the touches on that particular side. The pizza chart shows that Jack Clarke has a decent percentile rank among other left-sided attacking midfielders. Clarke is ranked highly for dribbles, progressive passes, and winning aerial duels. The player takes 3.05 touches inside the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes, and he is ranked decently in the pizza chart.
A runner down the flank
As mentioned earlier, the forward likes to stay wide on the flanks and performs most of the actions from that particular side. The first visual shows the progressive runs along with the dribbles. The winger’s actions show his dribbles, intensity rate, and crosses. Jack Clarke averages 4.49 progressive runs per 90 minutes. He attempts 7.12 dribbles and enjoys a success rate of 56.1%. Clarke has shown a bit of dominance in these two stats. However, he lacks accuracy in delivering the crosses. The 22-year-old averages 1.79 crosses per 90 minutes and has a low success rate of 25.8%. Overall, the player has shown his talent and what he can offer on the field.
The end product
This season Jack Clarke has netted seven goals. He takes 1.25 shots per 90 minutes and has a 43.5% accuracy rate. By looking at the above visual we can observe that most of the shot attempts have been made from the left side. He likes to cut inside and take shots. Clarke has tried to score goals at the near post and at the far post as well. He has been successful in doing so on a few occasions.
Jack Clarke’s creativity on the left side has added six assists to his name. He has provided 47 shot assists in the current season. By looking at the above viz we can observe that a few of these assists have been delivered inside the penalty box, while a few have found a teammate outside the penalty box. Clarke averages 1.77 passes to the penalty box and has a 50.8% accuracy rate.
Betting analysis
As per the 1×2 betting odds, the odds for Sunderland will lower if Clarke is in the team. The over lines are also expected to thrive as the player can score and create goals.
Jack Clarke has added a few goals and assists to his name this season. Sunderland are comfortably sitting in the mid-table and will look to focus on the coming season. A few clubs will monitor the player and might make a move for him in the summer.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
