West Ham United needs to move quickly to acquire the superstar as Sunderland's contract is up and....

West Ham must put the wheels in motion to sign Jack Clarke this summer.

iNews reported on its website on Friday (22 March) that the Hammers are on red alert to land the 23-year-old as he will not sign a new deal at Sunderland after they are refusing to break their wage structure.

It added that the Championship club may opt to listen to offers for the winger, who former Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray previously referred to as “amazing”, due to their player-trading model as he enters into the final two years of his deal at the Stadium of Light.

It’s no secret that we are interested in Clarke after being linked with a move for him on numerous occasions throughout the past few months.

We aren’t, however, the only Premier League club showing an interest after several top-flight teams were believed to be eyeing a move for him in January.

Italian side Lazio went one step further as they had an offer worth up to £16.5million turned down for him during the latest window.

That means there is no doubt going to be more interest in Clarke once the summer comes around and clubs have more money at their disposal. West Ham included.

West Ham must make Jack Clarke move soon

Given that we haven’t been the most proactive club when a bidding war has ensued in the past, perhaps it’s time to jump the queue and start laying the groundwork now.

After previously failing to cut it with Tottenham, the winger will no doubt fancy another crack at the Premier League, having made just four appearances during his time in North London.

He’s certainly improved his all-round game since then after registering 15 goals and four assists in 33 appearances this season to go alongside the 11 strikes and 14 assists he recorded last year.It’s clear that we need to bring in at least one more forward in the summer window after Said Benrahma left for Lyon in January and Maxwel Cornet has failed to impress in East London.

Sunderland forward Jack Clarke

Sunderland forward Jack Clarke has drawn the attention of West Ham

I’m confident Clarke could be the perfect man to come in and improve our attacking options. He’s hungry, has scored goals over the past couple of years and would add to our English quota.