Transfers: Burnley and Sheffield United to rival Sunderland over potential Jack Clarke replacement

Sunderland will face transfer competition from Burnley and Sheffield United, according to reports.

Sunderland have been credited with interest in 24-year-old winger Liam Millar, who has one year left on his contract in Switzerland with Basel.

Millar joined Preston North End on loan last summer and scored five goals also chipping in with five assists in 35 Championship appearances this season. However, The Sun are now linking the attacker with recently relegated clubs Sheffield United and Burnley, who will join Sunderland in the second tier next season.

Their report also states that there are also several European clubs keeping tabs on Millar, who has just one year remaining on his current contract and is expected to move back to England. It is likely Sunderland would see the winger as a replacement for Jack Clarke should the former Leeds United man be sold during the summer transfer window amid serious interest.

Millar came through the ranks at Liverpool and enjoyed loan spells at Kilmarnock and Charlton Athletic before joining Basel on a permanent deal in 2021 but has also been linked with a move back to Preston North End after enjoying a season with The Lilywhites in the Championship on loan last season.

When asked whether Preston North End could re-sign Millar permanently this summer, boss Ryan Lowe replied last month: “Listen, Liam - I won’t go into too much detail on what we speak about - but he loves it here. He has found a home here, his family are all here and his mum and dad are not far from here. He loves it, but again he is not our player - there is a football club that own him, paid money for him and value him. Depending on what those values are; it’s tough isn’t it, because if you look at the players we’ve had here before - we’ve given game time to them, coached them, they’ve performed and then gone for big bucks.

“We pay their wages, but get nothing out of it - which is fine. Liam has had a fantastic season for us, which we knew he would. He’s been missed of late, because he’s a fantastic player. But, all we can do is potentially put our best offer on the table. He knows that we’d love to keep him and I think Basel know we’d like to keep him. It’s easy for us to say we want to keep him, but I think Liam’s type of contract suits into the way we work.

“So, he is affordable, 100 per cent - but it’s whether he’s affordable to buy. It is whether Peter can thrash a deal out with Basel, and his agent, over it. I am sure there will be other clubs interested in him, but we have a value and if the value is way above then ultimately, you can’t do anything about it. But, Liam has loved his time here, wants to stay here - has said he’d love to stay - but it’s whether we can thrash a deal out with his parent club.”