Roker Roundup: Sunderland trying to lure Spurs winger Jack Clarke back to Wearside permanently

Talks on-going for Clarke

Sunderland are in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the return of winger Jack Clarke, according to reports.

Craig Hope of the Daily Mail say that Sunderland want Clarke to return to the Stadium of Light after a successful loan spell last season.

Speaking on Twitter, Hope says the talks are in regards a permanent move which would see the 21-year-old leave Tottenham three years after signing for the club in a £10m+ deal from Leeds United.

Should Clarke complete a return to Sunderland, it will mean he, Patrick Roberts, Bailey Wright and Lynden Gooch will all be retained from the successful Play-Off Final win over Wycombe Wanderers.

Photo by Federico Maranesi/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Lots on the move

Former Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead has left Port Vale to take up a coaching role at Turkish side Besiktas, the 40-year-old will link up with former Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion boss Valerian Ismael who is currently the manager of the Black Eagles.

The fantastically named Bernt Haas, who had a spell at Sunderland under Peter Reid, has been appointed Sporting Director at Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich and was very happy to re-join the club where he started his career, telling the official website:

I am extremely excited about this new opportunity at the club where my football career began. It is an honour for me to help shape the future of a club like Grasshoppers, which has great potential and boasts a rich tradition and history. Now I will get to work immediately and do my best to ensure we can start the season with a strong team.

Sunderland academy product Tom Beadling has left his home town club of Barrow and signed for A-League outfit Western Sydney Wanderers. While yet another academy product, Jacob Young, has signed a new deal with Perth Glory.

El-Hadji Ba has completed his move to Apollon Limassol, where he will link up with former Sunderland team-mates Valentin Roberge and Charis Mavrias and the French midfielder admitted to goal.philenews.com that Roberge convinced him to sign for the Cypriot champions:

In the team are [Bagaliy] Dabo, [Nicholas] Diguiny and also [Hervin] Ongenda and Roberge, with whom I played at Bastia and Sunderland respectively, as well as Mavrias. However, I only spoke to Robbie who had very good things to say about the club, the atmosphere in the dressing room, the fans, winning this year’s league and generally everything I wanted to hear.