Prodigious 17 year-old Ipswich striker Connor Wickham looks to be attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs this season and a summer move looks to be on the cards, but at which club would Wickham shine brightest?
Powerfully built, with a decent touch and pace to burn, it’s of no surprise that Wickham is being courted by many of English football’s top tier after some scintillating displays in the Championship this season. The club to have shown the strongest and most lasting interest in the player are Spurs.
Spurs have a great tradition of signing young English players and blooding them into the first-team. The likes of Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone have all benefited from such an approach in the past.
However, it could be argued that these players were allowed the necessary time to settle in the first-team and develop their natural game without any undue pressure placed upon them, with the club little more than an inconsistent top half side at the time. Whereas now, Spurs are seen by many as a club on the cusp of great things and with Redknapp looking set to lead Spurs to a sustainable title challenge over the coming seasons, there will be little time for young talent to be nurtured and broken in.
Should Redknapp sign an established striker in the summer as well as Wickham, then a move to White Hart Lane would make at least a degree of sense for both club and player. The gap in class between the top half of the Premier League and the Championship is huge at the moment though and there is a worry that too much may be expected of Wickham too soon should he move to Spurs.
It’s also worth noting that recent young players signed by Spurs have struggled to make their mark on the first-team and the likes of Danny Rose and in particular John Bostock may have come to regret moving to White Hart Lane. The club’s propensity to sign players on the cuff at the behest of manager Harry ‘triffic player, triffic’ Redknapp and a defined long-term vision could also hinder the collective wisdom of any potential deal.
There have also been rumours that Liverpool have stepped up their pursuit of Wickham. The youngster is known to be a boyhood Liverpool fan and this may count in the Merseyside club’s favour.
The fact that Liverpool have spent so much on the likes of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez though could mean that Wickham faces a potential long-term roadblock to his route to the starting eleven. One positive of any deal though would undoubtedly be that Liverpool would offer him the platform to perform from a reduced role initially whereas in contrast Spurs require a striker capable of delivering the goods right now.
There is thought to be a talented crop of youngsters filtering through into the first-team squad at the moment at Liverpool, with the likes of Raheem Sterling grabbing the headlines last week. With Kenny Daglish and Damien Comolli’s shift in emphasis towards youth team development, the club are looking to offer more first-team opportunities to their youth team players and it could be a good time to join Liverpool, a club that are undoubtedly in transition.
Arsenal and Man Utd are thought to be monitoring his progress too. Arsenal would be the best place for Wickham in my opinion. Any move that Wickham may make in the summer, is likely to hinder on an agreed immediate return on loan to current club Ipswich for next season – a smart move on the youngster’s part it has to be said.
Wenger’s Arsenal has a fantastic reputation for nurturing and developing young talent; granting them the necessary first-team opportunities while at the same time educating them in the basic principles of the pass and move philosophy that has since become synonymous with the club. Arsenal already have considerable options up top to lessen the immediate burden on Wickham too with the likes of Van Persie, Chamakh and Bendtner to contend with.
The example of Theo Walcott is a decent barometer when talking about such moves. Walcott is a player that’s been widely derided in the past for the perceived lack of intelligence that he‘s displayed at times. However, he has come on in leaps and bounds this year under the astute tutelage of Arsene Wenger and he looks a much more rounded player as a result.
Man Utd are thought to be interested in Wickham too but there has been little evidence of anything concrete as yet. The expected departure of Michael Owen in the summer does open up a potential slot in the Old Trafford forward line, but the three players currently ahead of him in any proposed pecking order – Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez – look impenetrable at the moment to say the least and they look certain to be around for some time to come.
Ferguson does have previous with concerns to splashing the cash on relatively unproven young talent – with the likes of Chris Smalling, Bebe and Obertan springing to mind – but the Scot will have more pressing matters to contend with in the summer, with other parts of the squad in serious need of an overhaul instead of the attack, which at the moment, is perfectly serviceable.
Sunderland have had a £5m offer turned down for the player in question in the past and with Steve Bruce openly stating that he’ll be looking to strengthen his strikeforce in the summer, the Wearsiders could come into contention. Granted, it looks unlikely and Wickham’s current reputation is likely to help sceure a switch to a bigegr club, yet a move to a club like Sunderland could be ideal. Regular football, a lessening of expectations, all while garnering some top flight sexperience to boot – all in all, exactly what Wickham needs right now, but do they have between £10-12m to spend on a relatively unproven 17 year-old? It would represent a massive gamble on Sunderland’s part, more so than any of the other club’s mentioned previously and as such it looks unlikely.
Wickham is being touted around for between £10-12m, a startling price considering his relative lack of first-team experience. The premium that you pay for English talent has well and truly struck again and the potential cost may put several suitors off. But Wickham does look the real deal from what I’ve seen of him and given a bit of time and patience, he could be a real force in the top flight in the future.
Spurs look the favourites and their persistence in chasing Wickham’s signature will most probably pay off, however, I still don’t see them as being the best fit for Wickham right now. It’s a case of right club wrong time, and either the rebuilding project at Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool or the long-term route of developing his game at Arsenal are to my mind, the best options available to the youngster.
The top article was written by James McManus for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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INTRODUCING FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION! . . .
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