Sunderland AFC news: Championship club 'trying to sign' ex-£9m free agent former Cats striker

Cardiff City boss Sabri Lamouchi has confirmed he is attempting to sign the free agent striker after the 29-year-old left League One side Forest Green Rovers last month after his short-term deal came to an end.

The former Leeds United loanee has been training with the Wales club and underwent rehabilitation with the Cardiff physios for a minor injury.

"We are trying to sign him," revealed Lamouchi. "He is training with us and I hope he will be part of the squad. There was the timing and the opportunity. We don't have a lot of time and he was around as a free agent.

"He has experience in this league so can help us. We must finalise this case. He's physically big with quality and experience, a free agent, so we need to find a deal with him."

Sunderland failed to bring in a striker on deadline day leaving loanee Joe Gelhardt as the club’s only fit central attacker after the injury to Ross Stewart.

Wickham enjoyed a four-campaign stint at the Stadium of Light – with loans at Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday in between – following an £8m move from Ipswich Town back in 2011.

The fee broke Ipswich Town's record for transfer fees recouped and broke the transfer record for a Football League player moving to a Premier League club at the time. The deal was seen as a coup for the North East club to sign Wickham at the time, having beaten off interest from Liverpool to capture his signature.

The former England youth international found the net just 15 times in 91 appearances on Wearside before sealing a move to Palace on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee in 2015.

Sources at the time reported the fee as a fee rising £9million, meaning around £17million in transfer fees has been spent on Wickham throughout his career. Wickham joined Forest Green in League One in the summer on a six-month deal but left after his contract expired in January.