Town striker Connor Wickham has completed his move to Sunderland, signing a four-year deal at the Stadium of Light. The Blues have revealed the fee to be an initial £8.1 million rising to more than £12 million after additional clauses relating to appearances and achievements are triggered. TWTD understands that there is also a clause which will see the Blues receive a percentage of the profit from his future sale.

Chief executive Simon Clegg said: "As much as we would have liked to have kept Connor at Portman Road we have to be realistic and recognise that the offer from Sunderland was simply too good to turn down.

"The deal is by far the biggest transfer fee this club has ever received and I'm told this could be a record in terms of a player moving from the Championship into the Premier League for the first time.

"I know that every Town fan will join me in wishing Connor well for the future. We are proud that he has developed through our academy and what he has achieved in his time here and we will follow his ongoing progress with interest. We will now look carefully as to how best to utilise these funds to support Paul in strengthening the squad."

The Hereford-born striker moved to Town in 2006 after his serviceman father Stefan was posted to Colchester, having been with Reading’s academy up to that point. The Royals recommended the Blues’ youth set-up as the place in East Anglia where he should continue his development.

A regular in the U18s at 14, by which time he was already being tracked by Premier League scouts, Wickham made his first team bow at the age of 16 years and 11 days, coming on as a sub in a 3-1 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers in the closing weeks of Jim Magilton’s time as Town boss.

That beat Jason Dozzell’s previous record by 46 days, although unlike the Ipswich-born midfielder, Wickham didn’t score.

His first two senior goals followed in the Carling Cup victory over Shrewsbury at the New Meadow the following August. Wickham claimed a hat-trick of sorts as he also netted in a rare Town penalty shoot-out success after the match had ended 3-3. His first league goal came late on in a 1-0 home victory over Scunthorpe at Portman Road later that season.

In total, the striker made 37 starts and 35 sub appearances while at Portman Road, scoring 15 goals. Wickham also won England U16, U17, U19 and U21 caps while with the Blues, netting the winning goal as the U17s beat Spain 2-1 in the final of the European Championships last summer.

Nine of those have come since Paul Jewell took over as manager in January, the most any Town player has scored after the turn of a year since Darren Bent netted 10 in 2004.

While Wickham, both the Championship Young Player and Apprentice of the Year in 2010/11, moving to Sunderland may seem a surprise, manager Steve Bruce has been admirer of his son Alex’s former team-mate for some time.

Two years ago, shortly after his former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane had taken over at Portman Road, he made an audacious but unsuccessful four-man swap offer involving Grant Leadbitter, Carlos Edwards, Dean Whitehead and Daryl Murphy.

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

Dyer’s fee allowed then-manager George Burley to bring in the likes of John McGreal, Jermaine Wright, Gary Croft and later Marcus Stewart and Martijn Reuser as the Blues finally won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Paul Jewell will now look to add to his squad in a similar manner with hopefully the same end result. After a number of summer exits, Town look short of players in several areas including left-back, right-back, right-sided central defence, central midfield, wide midfield, up front and perhaps even in goal if Márton Fülöp moves on.

Despite adding Michael Chopra and Nathan Ellington to his squad already this summer, Jewell looks certain to bring in another striker to replace Wickham, presumably an aerial threat to complement his previous two signings. Jason Scotland, a Sheffield Wednesday target, and Tamás Priskin look likely to move on, while Ronan Murray seems set to go out on loan.

Ellington’s former Wigan strike partner Jason Roberts was understood to be a Jewell target earlier in the summer but the Grenada international appears to still be in Blackburn’s plans for the season ahead.

QPR striker Rob Hulse could well come into Jewell’s thoughts, the Town manager having signed him for £1.75 million from Sheffield United when Derby boss in July 2008.

The 31-year-old, who started his career with hometown club Crewe and has also played for Hyde United (loan), West Brom and Leeds, joined Neil Warnock’s now-promoted side last summer for a £1 million fee but managed only 13 starts and nine sub appearances, scoring two goals.

Despite Hulse, who is contracted to Rangers until 2013, stating that he hopes to establish himself at Loftus Road in the Premier League in the new season, a move back to the Championship would be little surprise with Millwall having already made an unsuccessful approach.

Out-of-contract former Portsmouth frontman David Nugent has also been linked with the Blues this summer but is understood to be on his way to Leicester City.

Elsewhere in the squad, Preston central defender Sean St Ledger, another player also linked with Leicester, is someone Jewell has been chasing since January and the Wickham cash could lead to the Blues firming up that interest.

St Ledger’s Lilywhites and Ireland team-mate Keith Treacy, a left winger, is also understood to be on Town’s wish-list, although Premier League Newcastle have been linked in recent days.

Burnley’s Dean Marney is a central midfield target, but we understand there is nothing in reports linking Michael Brown, a free agent since leaving Portsmouth at the end of the season.

Doncaster’s James Coppinger is a player Town have been chasing all summer with a £300,000 offer having been turned down last month and conflicting reports in South Yorkshire as to whether a second larger bid has also been rebuffed by Rovers.

The Blues also made an unsuccessful bid for Doncaster striker Billy Sharp but Jewell has said another approach for the former Sheffield United striker is not in his thoughts having signed Chopra, with Rovers apparently after £3.25 million for his services.

The large Wickham fee is also likely to lead to speculation that the Blues could make renewed attempts to sign former loanee Jimmy Bullard on a permanent basis, despite Jewell ruling the club out of the race a fortnight ago.

Bullard, who is understood to have spoken to QPR this summer, is still to move on from Hull City but reports in East Yorkshire recently claimed that the 32-year-old was talking to the Tigers about a seven-figure settlement of the two remaining years of his £45,000-a-week contract which makes up 21% of their wage bill.

Jewell already had cash at his disposal but the significant initial fee for Wickham is likely to see him set his sights slightly higher than he would otherwise have done.

Photo: Action Images

StavangerBlue added 15:10 - Jun 29 Poor business. We could have kept him for a year and if we failed to go up we could have then sold him for as much if not more. A club that is more interested in money than promotion.
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ingramg added 15:18 - Jun 29 nice to see whoppit is a true suporter not we will go up this year coyb
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fifeblue added 15:18 - Jun 29 This is a good deal by Ipswich for a player who is still unproven. To get this sort of money for an academy plyaer is great. There will be another one on the way in no time - Carson, for example. It is about creating a team to get us up, not one with potential and no delivery and Wickham couldn't do it on his own even if he played every week.
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icetruckiller added 15:20 - Jun 29 With Mac, Bullard, Norris and now Connor gone, we need to rebuild the spine of our team. In PJ we must trust.
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whoppit added 15:23 - Jun 29 I am sorry ingramg, I suppose you think we will get the title do you?? I am just been realistic and I think it's about a 15th place finish next year. But let's not fight. How about a delicious award winning pie??
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churchmans added 15:28 - Jun 29 yeeeeeeesss!!! get in there!! NOTELYBLUE you truly are a prize plum! youre gutted cos we got rid of our best players!!!!!!!!!! and its gona be a mid table finish??? WAKE THE PHUK UP YOU PIKHEAD!! ipswich are chit the whole team is chit we finished mid table last season and the season before that!!! with your precious connor! how the hell cant anybody on here see that this sale is qaulity! chopra,ellington,ingarmarson these are qaulity signings and theres gona be more before the start of seaseon and expect a BIG one by end of jan! anyone not happy with the new signings ,clegg,me,pj dont bother coming ya winging arse kunts. i beleive in clegg,me and pj and the club!why do you think these people are here????????? for the club to do well and get in the prem leauge1jeeeees some people

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whoppit added 15:37 - Jun 29 Churchman's - did you write this from the pub? Are you sauced up son? How about a delicious award winning pie to soak up some of that vodka??
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Lombokblue added 15:56 - Jun 29 One of reasons for being a supporter is watching young players come through. I thought after RK had gone that we would stop buying premiership has beens and take a chance with the youngsters but Jewell is just the same. Watching Connor score this year would have meant so much more to me than watching Scotland or Chopra or Nugent. Clegg never was an Ipswich supporter and never will be. How he can somehow hail this as a success I don't know.

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sonian_blue added 16:14 - Jun 29 'An additional £4m related to appearances and achievements' So thats £8.1m then.
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Suzanna_Gekkaloys added 16:36 - Jun 29 Am I the only one who gets annoyed at Town's inability to deal in round and aesthetically pleasing numbers? £9 million up front rising to £13 million? Ridiculously awkward. Surely £10 million rising to £12.5 million is more satisfying to the eye. Then I hear the actual up front fee is £8.1 million. £8.1 million?! WHAT?? That's just demented. Why the .1? Then it turns out that it could round up to £12 million based on additional clauses. Surely that's the wrong way round! The up front fee should be the nice round figure, nothing tricky, certainly not £8.1 million, whilst we could forgive the clauses for producing the stupid, awkward figure. But no! That's not the ITFC way! Bloody Town!!!

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Surco72 added 16:36 - Jun 29 Could be a very shrewd bit of business if we pick up the right players using the transfer fund we now have .All down to Mr Jewell to find the right players to take us up Charlie Adam,Danny Graham , Taraabat ,Scott Sinclair ,Grant Holt all signed in total for less than half of what we have just recieved for Connor . Re sign Ambrose goals and assists from the left side and Lambert from Saints as a target man to compliment Chopra .

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arc added 16:38 - Jun 29 What a miserable day. Football just gets worse. And the prospect of Hulse (ugh!), Marney and St Ledger coming in hardly fills me with glee.
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StowTractorBoy added 16:49 - Jun 29 Well I'd rather have Donaldson than the journeyman Hulse. Good luck Connor but don't expect the space you got in the Championship a la Sheff U goal. PJ please get some pace in now and a tall striking partner for Chopra.
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robdaful added 16:53 - Jun 29 Good Luck.
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churchmans added 17:01 - Jun 29 woopit when i go in the pub its to drink and like you say neck some vodkas! cant go in a pub and put and put comments on this or anyother website,message board whatever. cant get over you think we are gona finish mid table and stay in this league for next few years! or were you talking about our pie's (award winning pies!)hahahahahaha mines a mince beef & onion with a bit of brown sauce washed down with a pint! mind you not at the legends bar, that would cost me a tenner!!

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Sniegster added 17:07 - Jun 29 Sad to see him go, but best wishes for the future to Connor. Oh, and can you score 2 Hatricks against the Budgies next year please...!!!
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brogansnose added 17:10 - Jun 29 Good business or not, everytime we sell one of our bright stars it feels like a kick in the guts. Now get some signings sorted and show some positive intent because if not its going to take more than the poxy pies to fill PR. Rob Hulse, surely some sort of joke?
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TractorCam added 17:17 - Jun 29 Good luck Connor
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PunchNoHopers added 17:20 - Jun 29 Well Clegg would say that, bet it never crossed his mind to say 'No' we don't want to do a deal at all!Wickham needed at least another season with regular first team opportunities at Town first, I just am so disappointed and feel betrayed now!
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HolbrookBlue added 17:20 - Jun 29 Saga over let's all move on. Most important that the next couple of weeks brings new quality players to the club. Good luck to Wickham. He has shown potential but stil has a lot to learn.
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BlueVelvet added 17:22 - Jun 29 Now ME use the money to buy us out of the Championship, and don't waste it on yachts, cars, women and booze
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jas0999 added 17:35 - Jun 29 Firstly, all the best to Connor. Second, although bitterly disappointed to see Connor - a very promising young prospect - leave the club, for once I have to agree with Clegg - this is too good an offer for an average Championship club to turn down. Credit for once also has to go to Roy for bringing Wickham through - perhaps one of only a couple of good things Roy did for the club. However, with pre-season training about to start I do wonder if we are now even weaker than we were at the end of last season! For me, our best four players were Wickham, McAuley, Norris and Bullard. All four - along with other squad players - have left the club and we have only brought in three (albeit decent) players. I just hope this £8M is re-invested and an excellent striker is sourced by PJ. That would NOT under any circumstances be Rob Hulse. Although this is only speculation, if ITFC really think Hulse with his terrible goal scoring record is a good replacement for Wickham - we may as well all give up! We have already taken a gamble on Ellington - who has had a pitiful last four years. Another striker with a poor recent record would not be good. The Wickham sale will only be good for the club if the remaining 4 players PJ talked about AND a replacement for Wickham are signed by the start of the season. For me replacing Wickham, Norris and Bullard will be very tough. Good luck PJ!

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Infineteregress added 17:41 - Jun 29 Good luck to him. Obviously sorry to see him go but today's game is ruled by the head not the heart. Irrespective of what anyone says £8m upfront for an 18-year-old who was yet to score double figures in the Championship, let alone play at a top level, is very good business. The key thing now however is how much of that money will be pumped into to signing new players, and how wisely those funds are spent. Box clever in the transfer market and we could theoretically be seeing 4-5 top quality players joining the squad before the end of the summer. Farewell Connor! COYBs!

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fourth added 18:04 - Jun 29 Mr Jewell! Get fit (you're so young let's face it) and get the lads in good nick. As someone involved in sport, you just can't turn up as a Tubby and be taken seriously. We contain within ourselves a microcosm of our beliefs and their strength. I'm absolutely sure that you believe in fitness. If so, represent it.
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algarvefan added 18:11 - Jun 29 Good Luck Connor my son, I'm sure you will develop well under Steve Bruce who is a quality manager. Sorry you're going though :-(
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