Let me ask you this: if the person holding the axe handed you a bunch of flowers after your right arm was chopped off, would you feel better about it? Maybe, maybe not. Mostly relies on how comfortable your watering can is to use.
This month, there is a very real chance that Sunderland may have to pry Jack Clarke from them, much like a tenacious Golden Retriever might pry a Terry’s chocolate orange from its clinched jaws. Everyone understands that a player with Mackems’ apparent buoyancy cannot remain in the Championship’s charged cesspit for very long, but if such things were possible, Mackems’ pulsating streak of self-preservation would have him remain on Wearside indefinitely.
Despite its astounding nature, Clarke’s 13 goals in 27 league games for the Black Cats thus far this season only truly tells half the tale. When the winger is not playing well, Sunderland usually loses. Clarke has scored 11 of his team’s 15 away goals since the start of the season, and no other player wearing a red and white shirt has scored on the road since September.
In fact, one of the most common criticisms leveled at the amiable chocoholic Tony Mowbray in the latter stages of his time at the Stadium of Light was that he had become tactically stale, and that Sunderland lacked creativity beyond simply moving the ball to the left flank and hoping for the best. Not much has changed since Michael Beale took over in December.
All of this is to suggest that it makes total sense that a number of Premier League clubs are showing interest in signing Clarke. Fearsome rumors claim that West Ham is especially keen to get him before the end of January, but the Hammers will have to contend with fierce competition from teams like Brentford, Crystal Palace, and a few more.
Now, to be clear, no one of sane mind and some Mackem sensibility wants Clarke to go from Wearside in the next two weeks, but it seems certain that he will leave sooner rather than later. And Sunderland might as well try to get something back if they’re going to go through the trauma of having their creative soul torn out and spray-painted in claret and blue hues.
The Black Cats require a productive striker, at the risk of sounding clichéd. With the exception of Joel Bellingham, three of the four players they currently have in the starting lineup have yet to score a goal this season. Nazariy Rusyn, while capable in short spurts, is unable to sustain a long run in the starting lineup. As a result, adding a new center forward this month is a top priority for many supporters.
Divin Mubama, a 19-year-old prospect who just so happens to be on West Ham’s books, is one name that has been mentioned more and more in talks on the subject. Under Kristjaan Speakman’s recruitment paradigm, he would essentially be the quintessential Sunderland target: a young, gifted graduate of a Premier League academy who is expeditiously approaching the end of his East London contract. Similar raids for former Hammers Pierre Ekwah and Aji Alese have already demonstrated the potential impact of these deals.
Due to his recent burst of first team appearances and the mounting belief that West Ham would wish to lock him down to a long contract extension if at all feasible, Mubama is a valuable asset, particularly to a team in the upper echelons of the second division. His manager, David Moyes, stated the following about the teenager during the previous season: “Every time Divin has come on, I tell you what he does, he runs and he does the work and he doesn’t think twice about his effort or anything he does.” We’re always getting closer to him as a result. A player who isn’t scared to stretch a defense with his movement and leads the line with a willing physical presence? My heart, which beats crimson and white, please stop.
Apparently, Mubama will not take over as Clarke’s replacement immediately. Don’t take this post the wrong way and start sending me angry emails about how incompetent I am in general. As it is, I receive enough of those. But there’s no harm in attempting to get a very promising striker tossed into the bargain if and when the wide man says goodbye, supposing that any potential deal combining the two players would also include a large wedge of cash to enhance the Black Cats’ coffers.
Sunderland’s current bitter pill would be losing Clarke, but at least Mubama would make it a little bit sweeter.
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