Newcastle United condemns ex-Sunderland man to relegation 245 days after £15m move

Jack Clarke’s return to the Championship with Ipswich Town has now been confirmed after leaving Sunderland last summer.

Ipswich Town’s relegation from the Premier League at the first time of asking was cemented on Saturday following a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United. That means Clarke suffers relegation just 245 days after leaving Sunderland to join the Tractor Boys in a £15million move.

Heading into the match at St James’ Park, Ipswich needed a victory and for West Ham United to be beaten by Brighton & Hove Albion to keep their slim survival hopes alive. While West Ham did suffer defeat, Ipswich were unable to capitalise, playing much of the match with 10 men after Ben Johnson was sent off in the first half.

The result leaves Ipswich 15 points adrift of 17th-placed West Ham with only 12 points left to play for, confirming they cannot climb out of the bottom three. Ipswich became the third and final club relegated from the 2024-25 Premier League season, following Southampton and Leicester City, and will return to the Championship next term.

Jack Clarke was ‘looking forward’ to facing Newcastle with Ipswich

Clarke was subbed in the first half of the clash against Newcastle United, with Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna admitting the former Sunderland man was frustrated with the situation.

He said: “Yeah, frustrating for him. I think we started well, to be honest, I think if we spoke with him yesterday, and he obviously played against Kieran Trippier last year with Sunderland, it was a big challenge. He was really looking forward to the game, and I thought it was a good tussle.

“I thought they were both going at it, and Jack was banged for a free kick, and I thought it was set to be a really good battle. Really frustrated for him, but I think he's made some good progress in different areas, and he's going to be able to clock forward for the long term, I think, and hopefully improve.”

What happened in the game between Newcastle and Ipswich?

Bruno Guimaraes saw a close-range finish ruled out midway through the first half after a foul on Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer. However, Newcastle eventually found their breakthrough deep into added time, with Alexander Isak converting a penalty awarded after a pitchside review by referee Michael Salisbury.

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The second half was dominated by the Magpies, and Dan Burn, who had scored in their Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool, made it 2-0 with a powerful header from Kieran Trippier’s looping cross just 10 minutes after the restart.

Substitute Will Osula then added a third, nodding home his first Premier League goal with 10 minutes left to seal a convincing victory for Eddie Howe’s side. Howe, returning to the touchline after missing three matches due to pneumonia, watched his team climb to third place in the table with the result.

Ipswich’s defeat also made Premier League history, with all relegations confirmed with four games of the season still remaining — the earliest that has ever happened.

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