'If he gets..' - Sky Sports pundit Michael Dawson tips Sunderland star for future England nod

Sky Sports pundit Michael Dawson has named Sunderland talisman Jack Clarke amongst the current crop of current Championship talent that he believes could one day go on to play for England.

The Black Cats winger was a standout presence in the second tier last season, scoring 15 goals and assisting four more across 40 league outings.

Clarke has previously represented the Three Lions at youth level, amassing six caps for the U20s during his time with boyhood club Leeds United. Those appearances came in 2019, and since then the 23-year-old has been overlooked at international level, but Dawson is of the opinion that if and when Clarke steps up to the Premier League, he could force his way into the England set-up.

During an interview with Radio Times, the former Tottenham Hotspur defender - himself a former four-cap England star - was asked which emerging EFL talent he thinks can go on to make the national team, to which he responded: "There's someone out there who I know is going to have a great career: Harry Gray. He's still only 15 but he's away with the Leeds first team at the age of 15. We will see him this year in a Leeds kit, whether in the Championship, in the Carabao Cup. It wouldn't surprise me because he is some talent.

"He's already just gone back to the Premier League but Jaden Philogene. I like the kid at Middlesbrough, Hayden Hackney, very, very good player. Liam Delap, Jack Clarke, may be one if he gets an opportunity to go to the Premier League." Clarke has made five appearances for Sunderland over the course of the Black Cats’ pre-season campaign, scoring three goals in the process.