Connor Wickham has reached a stalemate in contract talks with Sunderland but it would be a mistake for him to seek a transfer Connor Wickham is not a superstar, he is not an England international, he has not even proven he is good enough to score regularly in the Premier League. The potential is there for him to have a fantastic career, but so are the pitfalls. It has taken Wickham three years to finally show why Sunderland invested £8.1million to sign him from Ipswich Town, but he has reached the final year of his contract and it is far from certain he will sign another one. At a time when Wickham should be concentrating on building on the impressive performances he delivered at the end of last season, there is the distraction of potentially acrimonious contract talks and speculation linking him with other clubs. It is in his best interests to sign a new deal so he can focus on becoming the best he can be on the training pitch and in matches, but it is also in his interest to get the best contract possible for his family. Gus Poyet has rewarded Wickham with a regular place in his starting line-up after the player performed heroics at the end of last season, scoring five goals in three games, against Chelsea, Manchester City and Cardiff. That secured Sunderland seven points which went a long way to securing their top-flight status, just as everyone associated with the club had begun to steel themselves for relegation. But it was still a brief moment of excellence in an otherwise anonymous career on Wearside for the young centre-forward, who was recalled from a loan spell at Leeds United last season. Wickhamâs Sunderland statistics are far from impressive â six goals in 46 Premier League appearances for a player who has looked out of his depth for most of the past three years. Four managers, Steve Bruce, the man who signed him, Martin OâNeill, Paolo Di Canio and Poyet all felt he was not quite ready to play regularly in the Premier League and it was only when the Uruguayan was preparing a team for the Championship that Wickham got his chance. He took it superbly. Wickham was the toast of Wearside over the summer. He deserved all the praise he received and both Sunderland and England were excited by his prolific spell in front of goal, as well as his all-round performances. Sunderland knew they were taking a risk spending more than £8m on a striker with barely 18 months of first-team experience in the Championship, but at last it appeared to have paid off. Talks began over extending his contract. The club wanted to show their appreciation to Wickham and to reflect his new status as a first-team player, rather than a reserve. Three months later and those negotiations have reached a stalemate. There is even talk that the situation has turned acrimonious between club and player. Wickhamâs performances so far this season have not lived up to those he delivered in the spring. Wickham remains in Poyetâs plans and has started every league game this season, but at the moment, he appears to be intent on running down the final 10 months of his contract. The striker was linked with moves to Leicester City and West Ham this summer, both clubs apparently encouraged to bid because he was miffed at Sunderland's delay in offering him the financial package those close to him believe he deserves. Sunderland have resisted bids for him because they do not want to waste three years of nurturing a player by selling him just a few months after he offered the first glimmer of evidence that he will realise his potential, with the size of the fee determined by a tribunal. Wickham is finally starting to look like a Premier League player, but the problems associated with trying to agree a new contract are a distraction at best. He still has much to do. He could be excellent for club and country, but he is nowhere near Roy Hodgsonâs England squad at a time when the resources available to the national team are alarmingly sparse. Wickham deserves a pay rise, but I hope money is not his sole motivation. He is already a wealthy young man, but more importantly he is finally playing every week. He will improve under Poyet and benefit enormously from the experience he is gaining in Sunderlandâs colours. That should be the most important factor when he considers his future, because the financial side of things will take care of itself the better he becomes. Agreed
Can't see him being here next season. He holds all the cards really, he'll look at Colback and know there'll be a few teams willing to offer silly terms to him as a free agent
The home grown factor is also massively in his favour, we'll sell in january if he hasnt pledged his future, playing him up front v spurs might help like
Just not boshed either way. Just wouldn't want him to be really successful at some other english club. Selfish I know.
Then he's flushing his own Career down the pan chasing the coin. He's got a chance to become a top striker of a team that plays proper football. He'll never progress and reach his full potential by heading down direct balls at West Ham (the club I think he'll be playing at next season)
Can't say I give a **** either way. I'm sure he feels he has grievances against the club in respect of his career and training, etc, and being sent out on loan all the time, but that's part and parcel of being a professional footballer. If he wants to go, let him go. When it suits the club!
He's not exactly van Nistelrooy is he? If he doesn't wanna stay, then he can **** off, if he does wanna stay, I worry that we give him 45k a week and he turns out to be ****e. Tough one for the club to handle, frankly. He needs some games up top, and if he doesn't score, we get on the blower to fat Sam and shift him in January.
Thing is - in January he holds even more cards than he does now - he can talk to and agree terms with another club at that point. We need to get him tied down to a contract now then, if he scores us 15 goals this season, he will be a £30m striker (a la Lukaku) next summer. Stick a release clause in for him at £20m or £15m. I want us to keep tight ahold of this lad - what we really needed was to sign a striker in August and then we would have held the cards instead of him. But that didn't come off unfortunately. Play him through the middle and tell him "6 games to prove yourself worthy of that contract" and if he does the biz then give him the contract. No-one actually knows what he's asked for - I very much doubt that the agent or the press have any idea and this £42k thing is guesswork on all parts. Everyone knows my opinion of him on here - and saying that he's only just starting to show why Sunderland paid that much is a little of a misnomer really when he has not had a single chance under any manager until the end of last season. 2 games here and there cannot give anyone a solid idea of whether he is any good or not
Well it's his career not ours, His next contract will be his biggest ever at age 22. Players who handle their career correctly and fulfill their potential get their biggest contracts going into their prime or as they wind down. He's peaking himself early, his own fault if it happens, Sunderland will go on regardless.
Usual greedy footballer attitude, Same as Borini who would rather sit in Liverpools friends and families box than play for a fisrt 11.
In simple terms, we need to stop sucking the lad off, the club is wise to him, he is far, far from proven, we would be ****ing idiots to give him 4 years at 40k plus. We've made that mistake many, many times, if we lose him for £5million next summer via tribunal, as opposed to lumping him a £10 million contract and him being ****e, I back the clubs stance this time 100%. He's done **** all this season, yes, he's been out wide, and we need him up top to judge, but he has made no impression whatsoever.
He's been lively but ****e, so far this season he's proved one thing and that he's a one position player with no adaptability at all.
