Sunderland have been tipped to sign a League One attacker as Jack Clarke’s replacement.
Sunderland are just a couple of months away from potentially offloading Jack Clarke, with the winger attracting heavy interest since last summer.
Clarke has 15 goals in the Championship this season and looks likely to be playing his last games for the club over the next few weeks.
The Black Cats have tried to tie the forward down to a new deal, but fans now seemed to have accepted that his time at the Stadium of Light will come to an end.
Sunderland will no doubt demand a hefty fee for Clarke’s exit, but they still face a huge challenge in replacing him.
Clarke’s absence was glaringly obvious when he spent a month on the sidelines this year, with Sunderland managing to score only five goals in six games.
The Wearside outfit are going to need a player who can find the net as comfortably as him, whilst also being eager to join a club set to finish in mid table.
One player the Black Cats have been linked to recently is Oxford United’s Josh Murphy, with with the club having sent scouts to watch the winger in action during their 5-0 win over Peterborough United at the weekend.
The 29-year-old has six goals and four assists in his last 12 games for Oxford, and could be available on a free transfer this summer if they fail to win promotion.
Pundit Carlton Palmer has now claimed that Murphy could be ‘excellent business’ for Sunderland, despite not fitting the ‘model’.
Josh Murphy would be a ‘great signing’ for Sunderland
Speaking to Football League World, Palmer said: “QPR have joined the list of clubs interested in Josh Murphy. It’s also believed that Sunderland are keen on Murphy, who could be an ideal replacement for Jack Clarke.
“Clarke will undoubtedly leave the club in the summer. His agent, Ian Harte, has made that clear that he will move on to pastures new.
“While we know that QPR are looking at Murphy as an ideal replacement for Chris Willock.
“He’s got Championship pedigree, and he’s now having a fantastic season, the Oxford winger.
“He’s available on a free transfer, he’s experienced at 29 – but you know he can, and has, done it at that level.
“It would be a good bit of business, on a free transfer as I say, for QPR, as would it for Sunderland.
“I don’t know whether he would fit into Sunderland’s criteria, though. They like to sign young players and sell them for big transfer fees.
“So he wouldn’t fit into the model that Sunderland are looking for, or what they have put in place in the past, but I do think it would be a great signing for either football club.
“He’s done fantastic this season, and he has the pedigree, so getting his signature on a free transfer would be excellent business.”
Clarke for Murphy would be a horrendous downgrade
Sunderland fans have encouraged the club to steer away from their usual transfer policy after such a disastrous season, and it is good to see them looking at more experienced players.
However, replacing one of the best players in the Championship with Josh Murphy is particularly underwhelming.
The attacker has had a brilliant second half of the season in League One, but that is all he has done for a while.
Murphy has only scored seven goals across three seasons with Cardiff and Preston, while his highest goal tally in any league is also seven goals.
The 29-year-old wasn’t good enough for the Championship and that’s why he moved down to League One, where he is now impressing.
To think that he could be the replacement to Jack Clarke is crazy and certainly isn’t the experienced goalscorer we are looking for.
He may be a good squad player on a free transfer, but fans would definitely be frustrated if we made over £20m on Clarke then signed him instead.