Sunderland have renewed their interest in Town striker Connor Wickham, according to one of this morning’s papers. The Black Cats are claimed to be ready to use some of the £16 million they have received from Liverpool for Jordan Henderson to make a £9 million offer for the Blues youngster.
Wearsiders boss Steve Bruce is a known admirer of Wickham and Sunderland have been mentioned in connection with the frontman fairly regularly over the last year.
However, several of today’s other papers claim Sunderland have opted against a move for the 18-year-old as they believe the Hereford-born striker is off to Liverpool with a £10 million Reds bid on the cards. A week ago, an £8 million Liverpool offer was widely reported to have been rebuffed by the Blues, although there is still no confirmation from either club.
Wickham himself would appear less likely to join the Black Cats in any case with Blues boss Paul Jewell saying in March that the England U21 international would only be interested in moving to one of the Premier League’s bigger clubs.
Having suffered a minor ankle knock in training with the England U21s in Denmark yesterday which saw him miss this morning's session as a precaution, Wickham will be hoping to win his fourth cap at that level on Sunday when Stuart Pearce’s side take on Spain in their opening group game in Viborg (Sky Sports One/HD1 4.30pm).
The English youngsters, of whom Wickham is the most junior and the only outfield player from a Championship club, subsequently face Ukraine next Wednesday and the Czech Republic on the following Sunday.