Town striker Connor Wickham is set to undergo a medical at Sunderland in the next 24 hours. The Blues and the Black Cats have spent the day in talks after the Premier League club offered a fee of £9 million plus a further £4 million in additional clauses based on appearances and achievements.

While last night’s tabloid report claiming that the Blues had accepted the offer slightly jumped the gun, it now increasingly appears that a deal is close to being concluded and we understand that the player is in the North-East this evening.

Despite previous suggestions from manager Paul Jewell that Wickham might not be interested in signing for one of the Premier League’s lesser lights, if a deal has been agreed with the Wearsiders and no other late offers are forthcoming, it’s difficult to see the Hereford-born frontman turning the move down.

Sunderland have stolen a march on the likes of Liverpool, the club Wickham supported as a boy, Spurs and Arsenal by firming up their interest in the England U21 international, making a bid which would make him the most expensive player to have moved from the Championship to the Premier League without previous experience in the top flight.

In 2006 Theo Walcott made the switch from Southampton to Arsenal for a fee which, after a renegotiation in 2008, eventually totalled £9 million, having initially been set at £12 million including clauses.

The deal would also make Wickham Town’s most expensive sale, smashing the £6.5 million Newcastle paid the Blues for Kieron Dyer in the summer of 1999.

Photo: Action Images

trctorby31 added 00:09 - Jun 29 This is great news. I'm disappointed that he's not gonna be an ITFC player next year but going to Sunderland he walks into their first 11 and a succesful season sees him move to 1 of the top four for an extortianate amount and if we have got any sense we get 20% of that. good luck Connor see u in Brazil
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TractorRoyNo1 added 00:18 - Jun 29 Bruce made good money out of our last good young striker and they are gambling that he will come good and be able to sell him on to a big club in 2-3 years for twice that amount
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TractorRoyNo1 added 00:22 - Jun 29 £45,000 x 156 = £7,020,000 what spend three quarters of Connors money on Bullard - crazy! bluearmy4life added 22:28 - Jun 28 Churchmans....... I would agree in getting Bullard on board.
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BrettenhamBlue added 00:38 - Jun 29 Clegg is going on about the fact that we have significant debt to pay off at the moment (look on the BBC website). PJ will only see a small amount of this sum- the rest will most likely go on running costs of the club.
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arc added 01:11 - Jun 29 Sell a wonderful young talent and use the money to buy journeymen. Mr Robson would never have done that. Harrumph.
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bobble added 01:40 - Jun 29 if you paid me that money personally i wouldn't move to suderland these foreign cities can be awfully backward and dangerous if i was conner i would stay in europe at least.he will probably be kidnapped and we will never hear of him again
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churchmans added 01:41 - Jun 29 pjewellisagod... Me wiped out are debt 32mill. The club has been runing at a loss for the past two seasons and our owner and saviour has picked up the tab every week! Evans has pumped enuff money in our club since he took over! Everyone need to phuk up about how we are in chit cos connor gone! We heading for prem leauge beleive!!!
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TrueBlueFerret added 02:58 - Jun 29 Were Chops&Duke told of this when signing,were we told this when renewing,NO is the answer.There's only 1 Con Ere @ PortmanRoad
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bobble added 06:29 - Jun 29 i heard they are only paying 5 mill up front
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oldtimer3 added 06:41 - Jun 29 If PJ spends the money wisely and buys experienced hungary players ( its not just youth players that are hungary) we have a chance (only a chance)too get out of this very competitive league! Good luck to you Connor Wickham hope you do well for your new club!
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DiamondGezzer added 06:42 - Jun 29 GOOD LUCK connor.
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whippet added 07:02 - Jun 29 Seems it is only 5 million up front and the rest of cash with clauses (goals scored etc). Welcome to League 1 Football Ipswich Town.......
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Basil_Smallpiece added 07:33 - Jun 29 The skint ticket tout spends all his day on Ebay, plying his trade (''Wanna buy a ticket to the handball, Guvnor? Only three hundred to you...''). He'll be pleased to pocket the Wickham Windfall. Not cheap plugging all those leaks, fending off all those lawyers. Visit PR and watch ITFC without any Ipswich players. Gullible fans watch anything. 'For Sale' sign going up shortly. Let's hope there's an Arab sheikh about.

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itfc1878 added 07:45 - Jun 29 NOW THAT HE IS GONE! get a DECENT striker and a DECENT central midfielder....if we have spare cash get a right back who can play centre back too
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RetroBlue added 07:51 - Jun 29 Now lets see OTHER clubs say "no2 to us , when we try and spend some of this fortune on another striker. Maynard, Sharp ? ...."yer 'avin a laugh" their clubs wont let us get within a Country mile. SOLD DOWN THE BLOODY RIVER - AGAIN BY ITFC !!!!!!
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Pessimistic added 08:01 - Jun 29 Apart from this winfall or some might even suggest losefall, we should still have money in the kitty to buy players, if that is, we can believe the hype that Town did not need to sell Wickham in the first place. And then there is the 460,000 from Swansea which should go towards salaries. Mmm...intersted to find out how much of the money Town get from this sale will actually go to Paul Jewell's spending funds? that will tell us a lot I think.

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suffolkpoker added 08:29 - Jun 29 Very good business, shame to see him go. I wouldnt be surpised to see another striker come through the door, i would love sharp or maynard. Both seem over priced though
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joshberry94 added 09:02 - Jun 29 although i am surprised the team
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joshberry94 added 09:15 - Jun 29 although i am surprised the team in question is sunderland, you cannot argue that the deal is a good one for both parties. i am sure Wickham would rather a move to Merseyside, but he will be more likely to feature for Sunderland, espescially with the departures of Welbeck and Bent and the apparent lack of strikers towards the end of last season for them. I am really excited to see what PJ wants to do with this money - which will be a record fee for us, at just 18! - and believe this will help us challenge for the title more than keeping him for another season. If the move goes through, Thank you for your service Connor, and good luck in the premiership.

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Doctor_Albran added 09:22 - Jun 29 Untested 18 year old - £5-£9mil (whatever), Championship leading scorer £3.5mil - you can't moan at that. Whilst PJ and Clegg said that we weren't a selling club, the fact is that everybody has a price at which you would be stupid not to sell. In respect of Wickham we reached that price. Move on, give PJ £3mil to buy a good central midfielder (Peter Whittingham?) and a commanding centre half and lets get into the season - PRE-SEASON TRAINING STARTS TODAY!!!!!

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johnhazelbum added 09:38 - Jun 29 It's only "good business" if we can get some decent players to sign. The past 5-6 years shows we aren't able to do it. This is PJ's chance to show if he is "wigan" PJ or "derby" PJ.
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kozmik added 09:59 - Jun 29 we don't care - we got the best pies!! (If Scotland doesn't keep eating them all)
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Upbeat~ added 09:59 - Jun 29 Best of luck Connor - the door's always open for your return.
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NW10_Tractor added 10:05 - Jun 29 All the very very best Connor - With this Money we could skank Rotherham for Adam Le Fondre...
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GiveusaWave added 10:22 - Jun 29 So, the 3 best players from last season are now gone (Mcauley, Norris and now Wickham) And optimistic fans think as ever that we are going to have an amazing season. I am DREADING the season ahead. Think we will take some of Soccer's worst hammerings with the team we have. Think we got embarrassed by Norwich? You wait till August 6th
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