Connor Wickham

He came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Veliče Šumulikoski in a 3–1 home defeat against Doncaster Rovers and in doing so he became Ipswich's youngest ever player, beating the previous record being held by Jason Dozzell by 46 days.

Connor Neil Ralph Wickham (born 31 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Charlton Athletic.

He has previously represented Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Preston North End, Milton Keynes Dons and Forest Green Rovers.

Wickham made his debut for the Ipswich Town first team on 11 April 2009, aged 16 years and 11 days.

Wickham scored his first two senior goals in only his fourth appearance, when he scored in Ipswich's 2009–10 League Cup tie against Shrewsbury Town.

He also scored in the penalty shootout, which saw Ipswich Prevail 4–2.

Wickham has also played at various levels of international football for the England national team, and scored the winning goal in the 2010 UEFA European U17 Championship Final.

Wickham was born in Hereford, the son of an Army Warrant Officer.

He attended Philip Morant School in Colchester, where he achieved eight A-C grade GCSEs – as well as being a prominent member of the school football team, where he was a prolific goalscorer from a young age.

He played youth football with Reading for four years.

Wickham's father is Northern Irish.

He scored his first league goal in a 1–0 home victory over Scunthorpe United in March 2010, his winning effort coming deep into injury time.

In April 2010, Wickham scored his second league goal, which came in the 90th minute in a 3–1 victory over Derby County.

In April 2010, Wickham was named the Football League young player of the month.

He won the award after scoring three goals in four matches during that time.

On 22 January 2011, Wickham scored Ipswich's his first goal of the season in a 3–2 win over Doncaster Rovers.

Two games later, Wickham scored in a 3–0 win over Sheffield United at Portman Road.

A clearance of a set piece saw Wickham collect the ball in his own half, and pass two opponents before wrong-footing Rob Kozluk and goalkeeper Steve Simonsen to tap the ball into the net.

Former Ipswich player, Kevin Beattie witnessed the goal, and described it as one of the greatest goals ever scored at Portman Road.

Two weeks later Wickham recorded his first professional hat-trick in a 6–0 win at Doncaster Rovers.

Wickham's superb scoring form continued when he scored late in the match against Reading on 8 March.

With Ipswich already 3–0 down, his goal counted for little, although it was once again a superb finish, as he volleyed a ball that was coming over his shoulder into the top corner of the goal from a tight angle.

On 4 March 2011, Wickham was named Championship player of the month for February after scoring four goals in the month, including his first professional hat-trick at Doncaster.

Two weeks later he was named the Football League Young Player of the Year as well as the Championship Apprentice of the Year at the 2011 Football League Awards.

On 2 April 2011, Tottenham Hotspur manager, Harry Redknapp admitted that his side had not made a bid for Wickham.

This was despite several reports to the contrary suggesting a bid in the region of £10m had been made.

The same day, Wickham scored the second of Ipswich's two goals against Burnley in the Championship, as they won 2–1.

He signed a one-year extension to his contract on 8 April 2011, contracting him to the club until the summer of 2014.

Wickham admitted he was delighted to have signed the contract, and said he just wanted to concentrate on achieving his goals with Ipswich, rather than focusing on speculation about his future.

He said:

I'm obviously delighted to have signed a new contract and feel that I'm at the right club to progress as a player.

After having a look over the last two years I approached this season wanting to make a real impact.

It didn't start well with me getting injured but I feel I have moved forward as a player since I got back in the side.

I'm playing games every week, I'm enjoying my football and the club is moving in the right direction and that's all I want.

On 29 June 2011, Wickham signed a four-year deal with Premier League club Sunderland for a fee of £8 million.

The fee had the potential to rise to £12 million over the course of the contract.

Wickham extended his contract with Ipswich to 2013 in January 2011.

It had an offer clause in it which stated that if any bid equalled or bettered the one written in the contract, Ipswich would have to allow him to speak to the bidding club.

It was reported that the figure was around the £15 million mark.

This came two days after he signed his first professional contract at Ipswich, a two-year deal following his 17th birthday.