Boss Roy Keane says the Blues are very confident that striker Connor Wickham will sign a professional deal with the club when he is 17 in March. The 16-year-old frontman, unable to put pen to paper on a contract until his 17th birthday, has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs including Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Keane said: “We’re very confident. We’re working with Connor every day, we know the type of lad he is and we obviously feel this is the best club for him.

“Connor is playing in our first team at the moment, he’s learning from myself and the good coaches we’ve got here. We’re very confident, he’s a level-headed type of guy and hopefully he believes his future is here.

“We’ve had some very positive talks [with Wickham and his father]. But obviously there are agents involved and we know the way they work, however, we’re confident and I’ve not thought too much about it as there’s only so much we can do.

“He’s got a chance of being a top, top player, but that’s just potential. We’ve all got the potential to be successful, but whether we can follow it through is another thing. Connor’s a good player, he’s a good lad and we’re very lucky to have him at this football club.

“He’s learning his trade and if over the next few days and he wants to better himself and go on to play for a big club, he’ll have time for that. But he’s still learning, he’s 16 years of age.

“You can go to one of these big clubs and get lost because they’re signing everybody. All we have at the moment is potential and my honest opinion is that this is the best place for him.”

Keane says he already has potential signings in his thoughts for January, but says additions coming in will mean others will leave: “I’ve one or two in mind that I’d like to bring to the club. I think every manager will have a wish-list, whether you can get these players or not is another issue.

“We’ve got a lot of players on the books here, so we’ve got to try and balance that as well. If we’re going to get one or two in, one or two will have to go out.”

Keane says he’s still heard nothing from Colchester regarding Kevin Lisbie, who the Blues will recall from his loan in January, despite Aidy Boothroyd saying he has tried to call him and hopes to get hold of him soon to discuss the striker’s future.

However, the Blues boss says that two other clubs have been in touch: “I’ve spoken to another two managers about Kevin Lisbie. They’ve got through to me.”

Keane says the club will start to assess whether to offer players who are out of contract next summer further deals early in the new year: “We’ll be looking at those situations in January.

“Obviously, Arran’s a bit closer [with his deal ending in January] and we’ll look at that over the next few weeks.

"It’s worked out ideally for him because he’s after getting a new deal and he gets a chance in the first team, which is where he is going to be judged. He’s doing himself no harm at the moment and we’re delighted with him.”

Keane says he hopes to complete the signing of 19-year-old American trialist Devann Yao in the course of the next week with compensation due to some of the clubs he was with as a youngster — Metz, Livorno, Pisa and very briefly St Mirren — under FIFA rules: “There’s a few issues with one or two of his previous clubs.

“Giving a contract to somebody is not quite as straightforward as everyone thinks. There are issues with his previous clubs in terms of compensation.

“But we’re hoping that situation will come to a conclusion one way or the other next week.”

The move to sign Senegalese free agent left-back Ibrahima Faye, who impressed in a trial earlier in the season, is also likely to be decided one way or another in the next seven days: “That’s going to be harder as a lot of these deals were going to be to the end of the season and if you’re fighting work permits it’s very, very difficult.

“That’s gone a bit quiet and we’ll probably have more definite news on that next week on that whether it will be a yes or a no.”

Town have no new fitness worries ahead of Saturday’s game with Blackpool, although Lee Martin is considered a doubt with the heel injury which has kept him out of the last two games.

Photo: Action Images

yarmoblue added 11:33 - Dec 11 if he goes he goes , cant see what all the fuss is about. hardly prolific is he . maybe against other 16 year olds but thats his limit
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Wallingford_Boy added 11:38 - Dec 11 Hardly prolific? That's exactly what he is! Have you seen his goalscoring record at every level he's ever played.
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yarmoblue added 11:47 - Dec 11 like i said maybe against kids half his size
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bluefishx added 12:06 - Dec 11 Apparently that wasnt enough to keep Rhodes from going, WB.
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slatsisatractorboy added 12:09 - Dec 11 finegrs crossed. we have nothing to lose. and from what i have seen/heard he is worth the risk. If he isn't as good as we hoped, have we lost anything? not if our current strikers are much to go by!
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Mark added 12:23 - Dec 11 I think the Championship is a sensible level for Wickham to try to establish himself and I really hope he signs as he is a superb prospect. The problem may be that we are in the relegation zone, so he may be loathe to commit himself to a team that could be in League One next season if the Premier League big boys offer him deals. We'll have to wait and see.
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mugsykets added 12:23 - Dec 11 I've yet to see him set the place alight but he occasionally shows flashes of real potential. A good sign though, is, apparantly, several big clubs are interested. (However, the were supposed to all be fighting over Dean Bowditch but that never really happened, did it?) (Where is HE now? By the way that was a rhetorical question!)
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Strider added 12:40 - Dec 11 He's obviously a very talented kid, you just hope that he's managed well and that he realises he needs to become an established first team goal scorer before he can go to a big club and get into their first team. I'd like to see him give us at least 2 more seasons and realise that potential
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Wallingford_Boy added 12:47 - Dec 11 Yarmoblue - He can only score against who is playing against, not been given a chance at 1st team level yet (apart from the odd sub appearance here and there).
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JayITFC added 12:47 - Dec 11 Bowditch at Yeovil. 3 goals in 6 games. A few injuries.
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BrightBlue added 12:52 - Dec 11 Connor, paired with someone with some talent up-front, will show just what all the fuss is about. I try to support every player in blue, but I'm afraid Priskin does nothing to get me backing him! How on earth is Connor going to show his class alongside Priskin. Let Connor start with Stern or Pablo and bring on Stead as an impact sub.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 12:59 - Dec 11 Don't count your chickens too soon, let's keep our fingers crossed until the fat lady sings.
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mugsykets added 13:06 - Dec 11 I did say the Bowditch question was rhetorical! Mmm, Yeovil, no offence to a fine club but we kept being told that Liverpool were about to buy him (and various other 'big' clubs were 'sniffing') Please remember, Connor is only sixteen. Think how you were at that age. A lot of expectation on young shoulders. However, it seems to me that he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He can certainly look after himself. I hope he continues his development at the home of football - Portman Road.

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Thetruth added 13:15 - Dec 11 Compare Connor to Rooney at 16, there is still a massive gap Lets be honest a lot of people have talked Connor up into being something bigger than he is. Rooney at 16 was scoring incredible goals against Premier opposition and to compare Connor to him is a joke. When he comes on I have not seen any real magic that warrants the claim to be as good as Wozza. He is a big lad, must of been freightening at school, has ability, but is still young and if his old man has a clue will keep him where he is and let him progress. Unsure that he will end up being a Wayne Rooney.....!

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Mark added 13:29 - Dec 11 Wayne Rooney is an exceptional talent that rarely comes along, so the comparison to Connor Wickham is a bit unfair. If Wickham can establish himself as a striker in the Premier League one day that will be a good achievement, and I think he has a chance of that. As for Priskin, he has been a terrible disappointment. At an initial glance he looked a good signing, being only 23 and having scored 14 goals for Watford last season. However, I have since read that he has only scored 15 goals altogether at Watford since 2006 so only 1 goal before last season! 1.7m was a lot to gamble on him.

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TedTurnip added 14:03 - Dec 11 RK mentioned it already - agents are involved. Comes as no coincidence that there are rumours circulating at a time when the lad is trying to negotiate his, and his agents, personal wealth. I told my boss yesterday that Man UTD have been looking at me and he now has me on £30, 000 a week just for standing next to a photocopier. It can work for you too, give it a try today and watch the money come pouring in.

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arc added 14:56 - Dec 11 I wonder if Keane et al. have been holding Connor out of the first team until his contract gets signed. We have been desperate for a striker for the last few months, and you would have thought that throwing in a confident, raw youngster would be a good idea all round. But instead he just gets an occasional run as a sub. Perhaps they are worried that if they gave him four or five matches and he scored goals, then he would leave in March. What a stupid situation. The rules really should be changed.

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jesus added 17:13 - Dec 11 As far as having nothing to lose, we could sell him in 2 years if he signs for us. That could be a lot to lose.
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FinnishBlue added 18:38 - Dec 11 Rhodes is gone, don´t want lose Wickham...
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buryblue77 added 22:22 - Dec 11 I've read some rubbish on here at times and none more so than tonight. The kid's sixteen, he's not currently the answer to our goal drout but in a couple of years he could well be a top player for us, providing he stays. As for comparing him to Rooney, well it's already been said but he was a special talent at that age that doesn't come along too often. How many of the top players we have at the moment were big names at that age? Not many!

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