Crystal Palace’s intriguing summer of recruitment looks set to continue after an offer of £8million for Connor Wickham was accepted by Sunderland.
The 22-year-old was once regarded as one of the top young talents in English football, having broken into the Ipswich Town first team at the age of just 16 years and 11 days. He would go on to represent the Tractor Boys on 72 occasions in all competitions, scoring 15 times, which led to him being the subject of a reported failed £10million bid from Tottenham Hotspur.
Wickham eventually left Portman Road for Sunderland in the summer of 2011 for £8million, with the potential to raise to £12million during the course of his four-year contract. He has since gone on to score 15 goals in 86 outings for the Black Cats, yet his time has been interrupted by two loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and another at their Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
Since March 2014, though, he has very much been part of the Stadium of Light squad, and last season played 31 times in the Premier League. It appears as though he may have kicked his last ball for the Wearside club though, as the Guardian claim he is bound for the capital after Palace had an offer of £8million accepted for a player they are thought to have long been keen on.
Indeed, last January their former manager Tony Pulis tried to sign Wickham but was told he was not for sale. Alan Pardew looks set to have had better luck with persuading Sunderland to sell, and the forward now looks set to become the latest of an impressive summer spree which includes the additions of Yohan Cabaye, Alex McCarthy and the loan capture of Patrick Bamford.
