Crystal Palace have signed the Sunderland striker Connor Wickham on a five-year deal for what they said was an undisclosed fee.
The south London club are believed to be paying around £8m for Wickham who joined Sunderland from Ipswich in June 2011 for a similar amount.
Wickham, 22, signed a four-year deal with Sunderland only last December following the rejection of a £5m bid from West Ham the previous summer.
He told the club’s website: “I think I needed the fresh start, I had four years up north and it’s been a bit stop-start. Now I’ve come back home and I can settle down and see my family a bit more and hopefully let my football do the talking.”
Wickham scored 15 goals in 91 games for Sunderland and helped them avoid the drop in 2013-14 when he netted five in their last six games but he struggled to make a consistent impact at Sunderland and was loaned out to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday during his time in the north-east.
He has been a long-standing transfer target for Palace, who attempted to sign him in January 2014, when Tony Pulis was in charge.
Wickham is Alan Pardew’s fourth signing of the summer after Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain, Alex McCarthy from Queens Park Rangers and Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
“I spoke to the gaffer last week and he said all the right things about the club and I’ve got friends here who also told me some very good things,” he said. “I looked at the team before I arrived here and the signings that have been brought in, and the potential to score goals and the chances that could be created was a massive influence. Hopefully I can add to that talent and make the squad stronger.”
