Ex-£17m Sunderland, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday free agent 'training' with Championship rivals

Former Sunderland striker Connor Wickham is currently training with Championship club Watford.

Wickham enjoyed a four-year campaign stint at the Stadium of Light – with loans at Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday in between – following an £8m move from Ipswich Town in 2011. The fee broke Ipswich's record for transfer fees recouped, and the transfer record for an EFL player moving to a Premier League club at the time.

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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 to £9million, meaning around £17million in transfer fees has been spent on Wickham throughout his career.

Wickham signed a short-term deal at Charlton Athletic under ex-Sunderland boss Charlie Methven last March as the Addicks looked to bolster their forward line under Nathan Jones. The 31-year-old former Crystal Palace frontman scored once in four league appearances for the club but was released in May. Wickham has been a free agent ever since.

However, a report from the Watford Observer has revealed that Wickham is now training with Championship club Watford. The player has been training with the club’s academy while trying to sort out his next move. Wickam netted a first-half hat-trick during an under-21 game and will get more time for the Hornets’ youth side but there is no indication he will sign. The report adds that the attacker has been “excellent” with young players.

What has Connor Wickham said recently?

Speaking on Sky Sports News last September, he said: “I'm still only 31 really. It feels like I've been around for ages. I still want to push myself to be at a good level, at the top level. I've still got a few years left where I feel like I can still provide that.

“I'm just going to keep training, stay fit. I've had options, but I feel like I want to challenge myself. I don't want to get to the end of my career and be like, ‘I wish I did this, I wish I did that’. I'm sure sooner or later the right opportunity will come along and it will be one that will fit me and challenge me.

“At some point, I've always thought one thing I would have loved to have done is go and play abroad. It could have happened a couple of times during my career. At the time, I wasn't really that open to it. But as I've got to where I am now, where I still am, it would be nice when you see players now playing abroad, and the different cultures, the different fans, and different life experiences as well. I'm open, but I'm ready.”

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