Reds face Wickham fight

LIVERPOOL face a battle to secure the signature of striker Connor Wickham after it emerged that Sunderland had tabled a bid for the Ipswich Town man.

Anfield boss Kenny Dalglish has a strong interest in the 18-year-old, who scored nine goals for the Suffolk club last season, and was part of the England Under-21 squad for this summer's European Championships in Denmark.

Wickham is valued by Ipswich at around the £10m mark, but Sunderland are believed to have tabled an offer worth in the region of £8m, in addition to a series of appearance-related add-ons, as they look to test the Championship club's resolve.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce will have money to spend following the sale of midfielder Jordan Henderson to Liverpool for £16m earlier this month, but Wickham is understood to favour a move to Merseyside, having grown up a Liverpool supporter. Arsenal and Tottenham are also though to be monitoring the situation.

Ipswich boss Paul Jewell stressed recently that Wickham would not be allowed to leave Portman Road unless a substantial offer was made. Ipswich are under no pressure, financially, to cash in on their prized asset, but are aware that Wickham, despite signing a three-year contract as recently as April, is eager to step up to the Premier League sooner rather than later.

And the signing of strikers Michael Chopra and Nathan Ellington suggest contingency plans are in place should Wickham leave.

The 6ft 3in striker was Ipswich's youngster ever debutant when he made his bow in April 2009, at the age of 16 years and 11 days. He has since netted 13 times in 65 Championship appearances, and last summer scored the winning goal as England beat Spain in the European Under-17 Championships.

Meanwhile, Paul Konchesky's proposed move to Wolverhampton Wanderers looks to have been put on hold.

Mick McCarthy is interested in taking the left-back to Molineux, and Liverpool are eager to offload the out-of-favour 30-year-old for a cut-price fee.

But McCarthy is in no rush to force through a deal at this time.

He sees signing a central defender as a priority.

It is understood that Konchesky is desperate for a move away from Merseyside, with suggestions that he would even be prepared to accept a drop in wages in order to secure his exit.

Source: Liverpool Daily Post

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