Leeds United will look back on the latter stages of the regular season last time out in the Championship and curse some dreadful results, particularly on home soil at Elland Road, where Daniel Farke's men – for the most part – swept aside their opponents across the campaign.
Back-to-back results such as the 0-0 draw with Sunderland and the 1-0 home loss to Blackburn Rovers to start April ended up killing Leeds' chances of automatic promotion, missing out on some crucial points to then allow Ipswich Town to pull ahead, who claimed that final spot near the top owing to a six-point gap forming.
That would then lead to the West Yorkshire outfit choking on the biggest stage in the play-off final, which looks likely to have a major knock-on effect this summer, with Crysencio Summerville just one of many who could be sold on from Farke's nearly-men group.
Summerville leaving would mean Leeds have a sizeable pot of money to play around with, however, which could result in a shock swoop being pulled off, with the Whites' new connections with Red Bull also presumably coming in handy.
Leeds tipped to make surprise signing
Former Leeds manager Simon Grayson has boldly suggested that although unlikely to actually arrive, Jack Clarke would be an "incredible" signing for the Whites.
Grayson stated: "Jack Clarke has had an exceptional season but it will have to be a Premier League team he leaves Sunderland for. Leeds were forced to sell him for financial reasons previously but he would be an incredible addition."
This would certainly be a statement buy from the Whites, with the electric Sunderland winger very much eyeing up a move to the Premier League this summer, over a spectacular Elland Road reunion.
Yet, if there is a surge of cash to come into the Leeds bank account, the Championship side could be tempted to test the waters over a surprise deal, with Clarke rumoured to have a £15m price-tag above his head after a dazzling individual campaign for the shaky Black Cats last season.
That's only £5m more than what Leeds sold Clarke for to Tottenham Hotspur back in 2019, after deciding to cash in on the wide-eyed youngster after an unmemorable time in the senior set-up saw him make just 28 appearances and register just four goal contributions.
Labelled as being "one of the best wingers in the division" by the Second Tier Podcast early into last season, he could well end up being the perfect replacement for the stunning Dutchman, based on his glowing numbers across the entire second-tier campaign.
Jack Clarke's numbers last season
Clarke certainly backed up the lavish praise he received from many pundits and managers alike, netting a career-best 15 goals in the second-tier, even as his Sunderland side slumped to a poor 16th placed finish come the end of the gruelling 46-game schedule.
Constantly darting forward to try and make things happen, he could well be a natural Summerville replacement just on this basis alone, with the Leeds number ten always looking to bomb forward and wreak havoc when unleashed in a similar fashion, as opposed to receding into his shell.
23/24
42
15
4
22/23
50
11
14
21/22
20
1
4
Gradually growing into his role of being a key performer for his Wearside employers during his stay to date, Clarke has very much found a home to call his own at the Stadium of Light after really struggling in the aftermath of his major Spurs move, only ever making four first-team appearances in North London.
With Sunderland heavily relying on the forward to come up trumps last season, this would be a crushing blow to see their standout 23-year-old move on to a fellow second-tier side.
But, this might be a move he welcomes if wanting a shot at redemption at Leeds after never really setting the world alight there, before being flogged out to Spurs.
Moreover, nobody at Leeds would turn their noses up at the possibility of their former youth player relocating back to West Yorkshire, especially if he successfully fills the void of Summerville.
How Clarke could be the perfect Summerville replacement
Anybody coming in to replace Leeds' mercurial number ten is going to struggle, with his absence no doubt felt next season if he does move on.
Yet, Clarke could be the best possible replacement for the former Feyenoord youth player out there on the market right now, when you examine their similarities, as per FBRef.
Shots
2.75
3.16
Assists
0.10
0.23
Shot-creating actions
5.41
6.10
Passes attempted
43.56
43.02
Progressive passes
4.63
4.40
Progressive carries
7.88
5.04
Successful take-ons
3.81
2.52
Touches in attacking penalty area
7.72
6.59
Progressive passes received
10.66
9.44
Although Summerville does blow his Sunderland counterpart out of the water a bit when looking at just their output last season, with the gung-ho Whites winger amassing a staggering 31 goal contributions across all competitions, the numbers from the table above suggest Clarke's game could be elevated playing alongside the likes of Georginio Rutter next campaign.
The former Leeds man beats the Dutchman in certain key areas, as can be seen above, despite playing in a Sunderland side that languished below mid-table.
Therefore, Clarke could go on to fill the hole left behind by Summerville effectively, with the key Black Cats attacker capable of scoring long-range screamers like the one above conjured up against Watford from the dynamic Dutchman.
It remains to be seen whether Leeds do gamble on trying to tempt the 5 foot 10 winger back to Elland Road this summer, away from Grayson speculating, with Clarke no doubt taken more aback by the prospect of playing in the Premier League, over a sensational return to old pastures.
Yet, if it could be pulled off in dramatic circumstances, Leeds fans would be licking their lips at the prospect of another promotion fight, with Clarke's trickery potentially firing them up to the top flight.
Haaland 2.0: Leeds can ditch Bamford for good by signing Euro 2024 ace
Leeds United will be looking at ways to improve their striker positions this summer.
ByKelan Sarson