Southampton are firmly in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot, though, three defeats in their last four games has dented those ambitions somewhat.
Russell Martin‘s side were beaten 2-1 by Millwall on Saturday afternoon, leaving them fourth in the Championship standings, five points adrift of second-placed Leeds United.
Notwithstanding that, it seems the club are already planning for a possible return to the Premier League and have been linked to Sunderland’s fleet-footed winger Jack Clarke.
According to transfer insider Dean Jones via GiveMeSport, Southampton are pushing to sign the 23-year-old and it appears he ‘would be interested’ in the move.
Jack Clarke wanted by Southampton among others
“Yeah, it feels like a good fit. I’m sure that he would be interested in a club of that size and with the sort of projection that they seem to have at the moment,” Jones said of the Saints’ interest.
“Obviously, he will be aware of how good they’ve been across this season already. With Russell Martin’s reputation in the game growing all the time, you’ll be hearing from other players in the game just how he is improving the team, but also the individuals within it. So I think that that would be a situation that would interest Jack Clarke.”
The South Coast club aren’t the only interested party in Clarke, in fact, a trio of clubs in the Premier League and abroad are eyeing a move for his services ahead of the summer transfer window.
West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Lazio are all keeping tabs on the former Tottenham Hotspur wide player.
Lazio made their interest formal in January with a £14m bid, though, Sunderland rejected their approach and insisted that he was not for sale.
With that said, it appears Martin and his recruitment staff will have a tall order of landing the highly sought-after Sunderland star, particularly if they fail to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Southampton should consider alternatives
Should a move for Clarke fail to come to fruition, Preston North End’s jet-heeled winger Liam Millar is a viable alternative.
The 24-cap Canada international has impressed this term, scoring four goals whilst laying on five assists for the play-off hopefuls.
Millar would certainly be a more attainable target and the Lilywhites would likely demand a much smaller fee.
Though, any forthcoming move will likely be on hold until the end of the season, as the Saints continue to chase the top two.