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According to reports from Football Insider, Tottenham are ready to offer Jack Clarke an ‘enormous pay hike’ in order to convince him to join the club.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s pursuit of the winger is quickly becoming one of the transfer sagas of the summer after weeks of speculation, but the move may be heading towards completion as Spurs reportedly promised him a lucrative package if he joins the club.
What’s the story then?
The article also states that the 18-year-old will receive a five-year contract with a massive pay rise, major bonuses and a signing-on fee if he chooses to swap Elland Road for north London.
This latest development may tempt Leeds into offering Clarke better terms on his current deal, but that would be one of the worst things they could do.
Don’t try to keep him
Although last month I wrote an article stating that Leeds should try to keep their young star, these latest developments mean that it would make more sense to let him go. There has been speculation that Leeds are operating on a sell before they buy policy, and with Spurs offering the wide man such big wages they should allow him to leave.
Due to the fact they’ve been outside the top-flight for 15 years now, Leeds can’t compete with the wages on offer in the Premier League, and in this case, they shouldn’t even bother trying.
Shelling out big money for Clarke is a risk due to the fact he has only played 814 minutes of league football in his entire career. Spurs would be paying for his potential, and the danger is that he may never reach the heights that are expected of him.
The Champions League finalists can afford to take this risk, whereas Leeds certainly can’t, and they shouldn’t attempt to offer Clarke a bumper contract to make him stay.
In keeping with their reported transfer model, they would be better off cashing in on him and using the funds they get to bring in Helder Costa on loan.
Costa’s performances and statistics in the Championship show that he is a more useful player than Clarke at this moment in time.
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Of course, letting him go may backfire if the 18-year-old becomes a top player in the future, but with Leeds’ current financial situation and aspirations of promotion, it isn’t a risk worth taking.
