How Tottenham loanee Jack Clarke has adapted at Sunderland in wins over Crewe and Fleetwood

Primarily used to fit more attacking players on the pitch, Black Cats boss Alex Neil once again used Dennis Cirkin and Carl Winchester in a back three as his side looked to break down a Crewe side languishing at the bottom of League One.

Neil has previously admitted it is challenging to incorporate natural wingers such as Jack Clarke into such a system, yet here the Tottenham loanee was deployed on the left in what looked like a 3-4-1-2 set-up, with Lynden Gooch on the opposite flank.

With Sunderland doing most of the attacking, particularly in the second half, Clarke still had plenty of licence to run at opponents.

Still, as shown by the player’s heatmap, he was often positioned in deeper areas, nearer the halfway line, when Crewe placed men behind the ball.

The 21-year-old helped drive the team forward, yet often found himself checking back onto his stronger right foot when he reached a crossing position.

That gave Crewe’s players time to retreat and decelerate Sunderland’s attacks, while frustration slowly grew inside the Stadium of Light.

While Clarke has looked lively during his appearances for Sunderland, his crossing has been erratic.

Here the winger attempted 12 deliveries into the box, according to whoscored.com, yet only two were successful. That was partly down to Crewe playing with three centre-backs, but also the wideman’s execution.

Yet, as he was against Fleetwood when Clarke scored his first Sunderland goal, the Tottenham youngster was persistent.

Clarke produced more key passes (passes leading to a shot at goal from a team-mate) than any other player, registering six in total.

That included when he controlled Jay Matete’s forward pass with his chest before linking up seamlessly with Patrick Roberts for the hosts’ second goal.

Clarke has now registered a goal and an assist in Sunderland’s last two matches and is becoming more of an asset as his loan spell progresses.

The 21-year-old still looks raw at times but has adapted and contributed when Neil has altered the Black Cats’ shape.

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