Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently enjoying a strong run of form as they completed a fourth match without defeat in succession on Saturday.
Gary O'Neil's side battled back to secure a spirited 2-2 draw at home to Champions League side Newcastle United at Molineux, with goals from Mario Lemina and Hee-chan Hwang earning a point for the team.
The Old Gold had beaten Manchester City and Bournemouth – both by a 2-1 scoreline – either side of a 1-1 draw with Midlands rivals Aston Villa prior to last weekend's clash.
However, they remain in the bottom half of the Premier League – in 12th – and have lost more matches (four) than they have won (three) as it stands, which suggests that there is still plenty of room to improve.
The January transfer window is around two months away from opening for business and O'Neil is reportedly already looking at potential signings to bolster his squad.
Sunderland star Jack Clarke is a reported target for the club ahead of the second half of the campaign and the manager could land his new Pedro Neto in a swoop to sign the former Tottenham Hotspur prodigy at the start of next year.
Wolves' interest in Jack Clarke
TEAMtalk recently claimed that Wolves are one of a number of Premier League interested in a deal to sign the talented maestro during the next window.
Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Burnley, Brentford, and Brighton are all also said to be keen on the English sensation, with Palace and Brighton said to be ready to push on with a move for the ace.
The report also stated that the Clarets made multiple attempts to sign Clarke during the summer transfer window as the Black Cats rejected their offers for his services, one of which came to £10m.
This indicates that O'Neil would face serious competition for the English wizard if they decide to press on and make a swoop for him, as a host of top-flight clubs appear to be lining up to welcome him to their stadium.
It remains to be seen exactly how much it would take for Wolves to secure his services on a permanent basis in January but his form at Championship level this season suggests that he has the potential to be a fantastic signing, if the price is relatively reasonable.
Jack Clarke's statistics this season
The right-footed dynamo has been a consistently brilliant performer for Tony Mowbray's side so far this season and is proving himself to be an outstanding performer in the second tier.
He has showcased his terrific ability to punish opposition teams with his goalscoring ability from a left wing position. No other Championship player has scored as many goals (nine) as Clarke has this term, which illustrates how impressive he has been in front of goal.
Sofascore rating
10
Goals
One
Assists
One
Penalties won
One
Key passes
Five
Dribbles completed
Eight
Clarke's most recent performance for Sunderland (via Sofascore)
To be the top goalscorer in the league in spite of playing out wide shows that the Sunderland star can provide a significant and consistent goal threat in support of a number nine, which could take the scoring burden off his starting centre-forward.
The flying winger has racked up his nine league strikes from 6.01 xG (Expected Goals) and this shows that the standard of his finishing has been impressively high, as he has overperformed based on the quality of chances that his teammates have provided him with.
Clarke has only registered one Championship assist in his 14 appearances during the 2023/24 campaign but that is not a fair reflection on the creative quality the gem has produced out wide.
The 22-year-old magician has created four 'big chances' and accumulated 3.01 xA (Expected Assists) to go along with 2.1 key passes per game across those 14 games.
This suggests that his Sunderland teammates have let him down in front of goal as they have not been able to make the most of the fantastic opportunities that the star forward has been able to create for them.
Clarke, who journalist Josh Bunting hailed as "unplayable" and able to play passes that are a "nightmare" to defend against, has also showcased his eye-catching dribbling ability.
The 5 foot 11 nightmare ranks within the top 1% of Championship wingers for progressive carries (8.04) and successful take-ons (3.39) per 90 this season, which shows that he is an outstanding dribbler who can constantly cause problems for opposition defenders.
His aforementioned statistics also show that he has the ability to punish teams with goals and assists at the end of his surging runs, rather than having the drive without the end product.
Therefore, Clarke could be O'Neil's next version of Portuguese forward Neto, who has enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2023/24 campaign with the Old Gold.
Pedro Neto's performances this season
The 23-year-old talent has been a menace to opposition defences at Premier League level this term with a whopping seven assists in ten appearances.
Interestingly, though, Neto has only created 2.63 xA to earn those seven assists, which is less than Clarke has racked up for Sunderland despite having one assist to his name.
This suggests that his Wolves teammates have been clinical in front of goal as they have been able to outperform the quality of chances that the Portuguese youngster has provided them with.
The former Lazio man has only scored one goal in those ten outings and could take the next step in his development by improving his output in that area of his game.
However, his return of eight goal contributions in ten matches is an impressive one, as he has averaged a goal or assist every 1.25 games on average. Meanwhile, Clarke has managed one every 1.4 outings with his nine goals and one assist in 14 Championship appearances for Sunderland.
Therefore, O'Neil could land another winger who has the ability to score or assist goals on a regular basis to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the season by securing a deal for Clarke.
Although it remains to be seen whether or not the English gem will be able to translate to Premier League level, his sensational form this term suggests that it is a gamble worth taking.