Wickham Signs For £8.1m

Sunderland have beaten Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal to the signature of England's hottest properties in the capture of Connor Wickham this afternoon.

Steve Bruce has been tracking the striker from Ipswich Town and had his bid accepted and the terms and medical were all completed today at the Academy of Light.

The signing for £8.1m rising to £12m is a record for a player to join from the Championship to play in the Premier league with no previous experience. However, the potential of this player is something that the management and staff have all agreed is worth risking with Wickham.

Steve Bruce told the official site: 'A number of top sides have been chasing Connor for some time now, so naturally we are absolutely delighted he has chosen to come to Sunderland.'

'He's still very young, but at 6ft 3in he's a physical presence,' Bruce continued. 'With his height and style of play, he will offer us a threat in front of goal and complement our existing strikers.

'We have been watching him for a while now and he is improving and developing all the time. He's a great prospect and I'm sure our supporters will love watching him play.'

Wickham will link up with Asamoah Gyan and hopefully Ji Dong-Won in the next week and he is looking forward to a fresh challenge.

Wickham said: ''I'm so excited, Sunderland are a massive club with amazing facilities. I can't wait to get started.'

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