Former Sunderland striker Wickham lands short-term deal at Preston
Former Sunderland striker Connor Wickham has signed a contract with Championship side Preston North End.
The Lancashire outfit had been looking at the 28-year-old forward on a trial basis, assessing his form and fitness.
He was released by Premier League club Crystal Palace at the end of last season, and has been training with North End for more than a fortnight.
But Wickham has now penned a short-term deal at Deepdale until January 13th, and has been added to the squad which is registered with the EFL.
Indeed, he will be in contention for North End's clash with Sheffield United – he previously spent time on loan at Wednesday – at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.
After signing the deal, Wickham said: "It’s taken a little bit longer than I would have liked, having been around when the boys have been involved in games and watching their preparation and not being able to prepare the same way as what they are.
“But I’m just happy that it’s done now and I can kind of put that behind me and start to look to the future now.
"I was thankful that the club gave me the opportunity to come in in the first place and train and get my fitness back.
"I sat down and had a good few chats with the manager over the course of the three weeks, and I feel like we’re going to be in a good place mutually that I’ve got to prove and show the right to get in the team.
"But hopefully it’s going to work out well."
The player enjoyed a fourcampaign 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's record for transfer fees recouped, and broke the transfer record for an EFL player moving to an EPL club at the time.
Sources at the time reported the fee as rising to £9m, meaning around £17m in transfers has been spent on Wickham throughout his career.
The striker scored two goals in 13 games on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in 2019-20, but did not feature at all last season as the Owls were relegated to League One.