JACK Clarke, in the eyes of Mike Dodds, is a "Premier League footballer".

Sunderland's star winger has been in the top flight in the past and, according to Dodds, is destined to play there again.

He could well have ended up there in the summer, of course, but Sunderland stood firm amid Burnley's repeated efforts to take the flanker to Turf Moor. Top flight clubs have continued to monitor Clarke's starring shows on Wearside, but the Black Cats are confident their top scorer will still be at the Stadium of Light on February 1.

Clarke might end up leading Sunderland to the Premier League, of course. We'll see. What's not in doubt, in Dodds' mind, is the fact the winger is heading "right to the top".

Clarke has already hit the net on 10 occasions for Sunderland this season but for Dodds the winger's value and importance can be measured by more than goals.

For Dodds, the key word is trust. Clarke is still young but is mature, experienced and clever on the pitch.

"I love Jack to bits, said Dodds.

"I'm going to answer this completely truthfully. He's amazing to work with. He's a Premier League footballer, just look at his numbers, for me they're Premier League numbers.

"The trust I put on him. Look on Tuesday, for example. We play him in a high area of the pitch but I trust him completely to fill in at wing-back for 15 or 20 minutes, I trust him from a defensive perspective.

"He's robust, he plays every game touch wood, and long may that continue. He trains every single day, so he's got an unbelievable physical and mental robustness. He moans like hell, which is annoying, I'm not going to lie. He's got an answer for everything.

"But his family deserve a lot of credit, he's a really respectful guy. I think he's going to go right to the top."

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Clarke will line-up for Sunderland at Ashton Gate today, where Dodds must decide whether to throw another curveball after his tactical switch for the midweek victory over Leeds United.

In attack, the likes of Patrick Roberts and Adil Aouchiche will both be hoping for a recall.

At the back, Jenson Seelt, who impressed against Leeds in a defensive three, missed training on Thursday after being forced off against Leeds but is expected to be fit to feature if he gets the nod again.

Dodds said: "With Jenson, he didn't train on Thursday but that was more precautionary. We've certainly not got any major concerns there."

Dodds also revealed some further positive developments on the injury front, with Jay Matete and Timothée Pembélé both set to feature for the Under-21s on Monday and Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese making good progress.

Dodds said: "Jay is pretty much in full-time training.

"That'll be a really welcome addition for us in terms of competition and depth. Touch wood, we're in a good spot with injuries. Dennis Cirkin and Aji Alese are both training so in terms of that, we're in a really positive spot.

"Aji obviously hasn't played a lot of football so it'll have to be a case of integrating him slowly, and the same with Dennis really. With all of these lads, it's a case of just seeing how they react and if they react favourably, you can quicken the process up. If they don't, you have to adapt. So there's no absolute timeframe with any of them, but the positive is they're training."