Tottenham’s striker coach Les Ferdinand says Blues frontman Connor Wickham is better off playing in the Championship and learning his trade at this stage of his career. Spurs are understood to be the frontrunners for Wickham’s signature when he eventually makes the expected leap into the Premier League.

Ferdinand said: “It’s all well and good going to a big club but only if you are playing - there is no point taking Wickham out of the Championship if he’s not going to play in the first team.

“Someone might buy him and loan him back to further his education. But I think many of these young kids have tasted first team football so they need to be playing.”

Such a loan-back deal has been mooted in a number of the many reports linking Spurs with Wickham, who Ferdinand says he has watched a number of times: “I’ve seen him on a few occasions now, but unfortunately for Connor Wickham at the moment he is playing as a winger.

“They play him wide on the left or wide on the right, so he is perhaps not able to show what he can do as a centre forward. That’s always difficult, but there is obviously a lot of talk about him.

“When you look at his size, I mean he is 17 years of age and you can just imagine him in youth team football running through everybody because he was that size at 15.

“He’s now hitting that progression, playing man's football and it will take him a bit of time to adapt to that.”

Tottenham’s academy manager John McDermott and their assistant technical co-ordinator Chris Ramsey watched the recent home match against Hull, along with former Town coach Charlie Woods, who also now works at White Hart Lane, while ex-Blues coach Bryan Klug is now assistant academy manager and head of player development with the north Londoners. Technical co-ordinator Tim Sherwood was spotted at Saturday's defeat to Portsmouth.

Last week Town boss Paul Jewell said that the Blues had received no offers for Wickham since he had been at the club.

The England U21 international recently signed a contract until the summer of 2013 which is understood to include a clause which would mean he would be sold if the Blues receive a bid at an already set level believed to be somewhere in the £10 million to £15 million range.

Photo: Action Images

TractorMan added 11:02 - Mar 1 Ferdinands quote "“I've seen him on a few occasions now, but unfortunately for Connor Wickham at the moment he is playing as a winger. “They play him wide on the left or wide on the right, so he is perhaps not able to show what he can do as a centre forward. That's always difficult, but there is obviously a lot of talk about him" So is this not causing trouble for us if Wickham now goes to Jewell and says play me as a striker??

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wellhungphil added 11:06 - Mar 1 << Ring Ring, Ring Ring >> "Hello, Ipswich Town FC, the very sexy secretary speaking" "Yes hello, Les here" "Hi Lesley, how may I help you?" "I want Connor Wickham please" "No problem sir, that will be 40 million pounds please" "Ok, for a future England international and top Premiership scorer who we will subsequently sell to Barcelona for 100 million, bargain!" "A pleasure doing business with you, Lesley"

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Super_Hero added 11:12 - Mar 1 Where has this interview come from?
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tractorboynathan added 11:56 - Mar 1 Don't we all know this? I play Sunday football and I know good young players need to be playing to get better. F**k off les and tottenham.
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bluethroughnthrough added 12:04 - Mar 1 Annoys me how keane let charlie woods and bryan klug go, who are now working at one of the top clubs in the country
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itfc1981 added 12:07 - Mar 1 He's contracted to us so, Mind your own, Les! sum coach you must be if you havnt noticed he's played his best ever football outwide! Try geting players through your own youth set up for a change, instead of buying a team! This stinks of a Clegg pre-arranged deals to me!
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TractorRoyNo1 added 12:12 - Mar 1 keep your nose out of our business, you have no right to talk about our players who are under contract, fo back to north london
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bluehert added 12:21 - Mar 1 Surely it's better all round if, when Connor "makes the expected leap into the Premier League", he does so as an established forward in a promoted Ipswich side? The assumption shouldn't be that he needs to go elsewhere to play at the top level...
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itfc1981 added 12:28 - Mar 1 bluehart Amen to that. I hope we hang on to him through the summer, then start off really well next year, if not he will leave in January. A good start next season is the only way we will see Connor Wickham play in the PL for us.
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Bluearmy71 added 12:37 - Mar 1 This loan back thing is a load of bollox, we keep him or sell him for top money but getting him back and having to say goodbye to a talent such as Connor's twice would be taking the p1ss!
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bontcho added 12:44 - Mar 1 Phil, I thought the FA didnn't allow "loan back" deals. Or have they changed the rules?
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Mark added 12:53 - Mar 1 I'd hate a "loan back". Imagine watching Wickham getting better and better in the Ipswich team but knowing that we had sold him and all the value being added to him was going to another club. I'd rather get more money for him and spent it on decent young permanent replacement(s) if he goes, rather than a loan back.
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JayITFC added 13:03 - Mar 1 Wickham was under far to much pressure for a 17 year old lad playing up front, especially with our 4-5-1 system with a lone striker. The move to the wing has done him the world of good - better form and a few goals. Jewell knows what he's doing, plenty of time to move him up front. It will come in time.
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borge added 13:39 - Mar 1 They sent Tim Sherwood to watch him on Saturday so they must be serious.
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Karlosfandangal added 13:58 - Mar 1 Bye Bye Connor As I have said we will need a big re build with 20 players out of contract, Bullard will go back to Hull and Wickham will leave. We are struggling to get loan players in of any quililty and as for a 25 a season man we will need to pay big money for, which we do not seem prepared to do
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clive_baker added 14:03 - Mar 1 I would be up for selling him and loaning him back next season. That way we get a whole season out of him next year, sell him at a good price while he has 2 years on his contract and get the chance to reinvest his money to get us up (while he is still here). Leave it a year and we risk him having an average season, only having 1 year on his contract and someone like west ham taking a 5 million punt. Dont get me wrong i really rate him but Arsenal have already lost interest. An offer of £10 - £15 million to spuds or Newcastle and getting him back for a year would be good business imo. As long as that money was invested in Bullard, a left back, new contracts for Chuck, Macauley and Delaney and a goalscorer to play off Wickham.

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itfc1981 added 16:23 - Mar 1 Karlos, 2 million for Austin?
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Ipswich24 added 16:39 - Mar 1 Dont need accept any less than 20 million for him. Just look at figures all top teams are aware of him, he is still only 17, should sign contract extension next month when 18, has first team experience, by the time is 21 should be a frightening prospect and an England regular tell me now why we cant hold out for that much?
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jas0999 added 17:14 - Mar 1 Completely agree. Wickham is still learning.On a good day he will score a hat-trick (Doncaster) on a bad day he will miss easy chances (Pompey). At the end of the day though, this will be a business decision I suspect. ITFC may wish to cash in.Let'snot forget their is a release clause which if a club makes the desired amount he could go - suspect it's nowhere near £20M!!!

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Sospiri added 17:36 - Mar 1 Wickham isn't ready for the premier league yet, plain and simple. No point anyone buying him yet. Maybe in a year or so, if he starts banging in goals? But only then.
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tractorboy2434 added 14:22 - Mar 2 Based on this season's performances there is not much likelihood of him leaving in the summer, he simply is not Premiership quality at the moment and I fully expect him to still be here next August.
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