Sunderland to sign Connor Wickham

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3665540/Bruce-beats-Kop-to-sign-10m-Wickham.html

So, what do we reckon about this move -- is it the right step for one of England's most promising youngsters?

I'll be honest and say I didn't see much of him until a few days ago when I wondered how a kid from the championship could command a £10m fee!

But watching him, he has bags of ability, he can run with the ball, has pace, a cool finish and looks a real player if he can be handled right.

Are Sunderland the right club for him, and will he get the game time and chances to shine in the top flight?

it's a terrible move, Bruce is a poor manager as proven every year with the inevitable tail off, he wastes crazy amounts of money on poor players so won't have a higher calibre of player to learn from.

Poor move i feel.

Yeah poor move...should have come to the toon...

Don't really rate the guy much as he didn't have an outstanding record in the Championship. Might be one for the future, so should be shipped back out on loan.

I would have died if we'd spent £10m on an unproven striker.

Churchill wrote:Don't really rate the guy much as he didn't have an outstanding record in the Championship. Might be one for the future, so should be shipped back out on loan.

I would have died if we'd spent £10m on an unproven striker.

Surely you would have died if you spent £10m on anyone with your owners ever so tight pockets!

It would be a different type of dying if it was spent on a proven Premier striker- hasn't Wickham got a fairly poor goals to appearances record? I know he's only 17 and Bruce is short on strikers and buying him for his potential, but do I think he can score enough goals to help Sunderland next season? No.

Saying that he could develop into a wold class bargain and Brucey bags a bargain, or he could just be over-hyped and never amount to much.

His goal record doesn't look great -- going by Wiki here -- but I imagine he is still being coddled to a degree and may be subbed or used as a sub quite a bit.

It will be a step up for him no doubt, and he may struggle initially but he looks quality. He isn't going to get as many as a Darren Bent would either. But then I doubt Bruce is done looking for strikers yet!

just been confirmed for 8.1m on a 4 year deal

Well if you think they got £20m for Henderson...which noone thought they would...then its money they didnt expect to have...so not a bad deal.

I confess i havent seen much of him so cant really comment....but he has been getting alot of airwave attention. Could be a good move for the lad and the club, though probably not a long term move.....

Anyone remember Victor Moses? Same thing.

Think Wickham has more about him than Moses did/does.

Hype is a dangerous thing of course -- plenty of examples of players who made early moves to big clubs and never hit the expected heights. I hope Wickham gets a chance and takes it though. God knows England need a decent striker coming through.

It's madness for anyone to use a 17 year olds goal tally against him

Wickham looks a good player and im disapointed Liverpool didnt make more of an effort to sign him . Hype and expectation are part and parcel of any decent young player , its how he handles it .

In going to Sunderland he has probably given himself more time to succeed and i dont meen that in a disparaging way to Sunderland .

I think Sunderland is a smart move for the lad, he'll get far much more game time there then he would had he moved to Liverpool even though I could be argued the quality of training and development may be considerably better at Anfield.

For a lad of 17 he has incredible physical attributes, powerful and strong which will always stand him good against the the likes of Samba and co in the PL. Too question his ability to score goals at his age is a little hasty and should definitely be given the time to prove himself. He scored a few fantastic goals last season and as seen in the past the quality in the Championship is very good. He is a bargain considering what Liverpool paid for Henderson who is probably at a similar stage in his career even though a few years older.

Guys I am the only one who can tell you about Wickham. He has shown he has the talent, but the problem is that we have only seen glimpses of this talent. I believe that he left Ipswich a year too early as he may have needed another season to prove his full potential.

Ipswiich have done very well out of this deal and Sunderland have probably paid too much. We had a similar striker in Dean Bowditch, who scored a hattrick at the age of 17 against watford, but is now only playing for MK Dons. I just hope for Sunderland that they have got a quality player for the future and I can see them challenging for Europe.