Sunderland make £8m bid for in-demand Ipswich starlet Connor Wickham – report

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Sunderland have bid £8 million for in-demand Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham, according to the Daily Mirror.

Wickham had an impressive season for the Tractor Boys last season and it appears that Sunderland are ready to splash some of the cash earned from the sales of Darren Bent to Aston Villa in January and more recently Jordan Henderson to Liverpool.

Although he is only 18, Wickham played with no fear last season and with his 6ft 3in frame, had little problems coping with the physical side of the Championship.

Ipswich may have already accepted that they will lose Wickham this summer and have already brought in experienced second tier strikers Michael Chopra and Nathan Ellington.

According to the report, the £8m offer could rise to over £10m once Wickham has clocked up a certain number of Premier League appearances.

With this summer being Paul Jewell’s first as Ipswich manager to shape the squad to his requirements, the money gained from the sale of a player such as Wickham could be used to strengthen the squad further.

Wickham was voted the Young Player of the Year in the Championship last season.

He made his Ipswich debut at the age of just 16 years and 11 days in the 3-1 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers and since then has gone on to gain international honours in the England U-19 and U-21 teams.

Goal.com revealed last week that the Tractor Boys would be willing to sell the starlet, but only if an offer matched their £12m valuation, with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool strongly interested.

Sunderland have also been strongly linked with a move for former Birmingham City winger Seb Larsson.