It goes without saying that if Jack Clarke was to leave the club, Sunderland would not be able to go out and sign a replacement of anywhere near his quality, as they simply can’t afford to do that.

This means that they’ll likely be relying on youngsters to learn on the job and develop into players of sufficient quality.

Romaine Mundle is one of those players who looks as if he could develop into a good player, but Sunderland supporters can’t expect him to be an immediate replacement for Clarke, so they need to give him time and patience.

The 21-year-old has played 11 times since joining the club in January and has started five times. He’s scored once so far, and there certainly seems to be a player there, and he’s only likely to develop and get better in the coming seasons.

This means that if he’s starting more regularly in Clarke’s absence next season, Sunderland supporters should expect a work in progress rather than the finished article and shouldn’t write him off too soon.

Mundle has the raw attributes to do well at Sunderland, but it’s obvious that he’s going to need time. With a contract at the Stadium of Light until the summer of 2028, he has plenty of time to make an impact at the club, and could go onto fill the void of Jack Clarke in years to come.

Sunderland must remember that Jack Clarke needed time to make an impact

When Jack Clarke joined on loan from Spurs in January 2022, he didn’t set the world alight, and he needed time to get up and running.

Clarke made 20 appearances for the Black Cats during the second half of the 2021/22 season, and he scored just once, registering four assists.

It also must be remembered that Clarke was playing in League One, not the Championship so was actually playing at a lower level of football than Mundle is now.

Plenty of Sunderland supporters weren’t overly impressed with Clarke during his loan spell, but it became a different story after he signed on loan and started to perform.

Clarke and Mundle have both enjoyed a similar first couple of months at the Stadium of Light, and this should give Sunderland faith that the 21-year-old will come good and that he shouldn’t be written off.

With time and patience, Clarke turned into a star for Sunderland, and there’s absolutely no reason why Romaine Mundle can’t do the same.