Crystal Palace players celebrate after scoring. (Getty Images)
According to London Evening Standard, Connor Wickham has signed a new two-year deal with Crystal Palace which should secure his future at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2021.
The 26-year-old’s time in south London hasn’t been a happy one, with injuries confining him to the sidelines more often than not but Palace have shown their faith and confidence in the striker by tying him down to a new contract.
The decision to extend his stay at Selhurst Park can be seen as a vote of confidence in the player’s abilities despite his lack of involvement over the last couple of seasons. Wickham missed the entire 2017-18 campaign nursing a long-term injury on the sidelines and made only 6 substitute appearances in the Premier League this term.
Signed from Sunderland for a fee of around £9 million back in 2015, Wickham scored 5 goals in 21 appearances for the Eagles in the Premier League in the 2015-16 season but his struggles with injuries thereafter ensured that the 26-year-old only started league games for the club.
The Englishman has made a shockingly low 42 appearances for the Eagles in all competitions over the course of four injury-stricken seasons, accumulating 10 goals and 4 assists in the process.
Quite clearly, Palace haven’t reaped the dividends from their investment in 2015 and the decision to extend his ill-fated spell should certainly come as a big surprise to the fans at Selhurst Park.
Wickham ended his two-year-long exile from football with a 1-minute cameo from the bench in Palace’s 2-0 defeat to Everton back in October last year. The 26-year-old played four more cameos in the Premier League against the likes of Cardiff City, Wolves, Chelsea and Liverpool before scoring his first goal in 799 days, netting in the FA Cup victory over Spurs back in January.
The striker marked his return to football but it was quite apparent that his fitness levels weren’t up to the mark, as he went on to play a ridiculously low 61 minutes of football in the Premier League this past season, having missed the entire 2017-18 campaign due to a long-term injury.
His performances in Palace’s red and blue stripes over the years have been anything but convincing and the decision to offer him fresh terms certainly has to be classified as a very bold one.
Wickham represented England regularly at the U-21 level earlier in his career and he was tipped by many to evolve into the nation’s next prolific No.9, but things haven’t quite gone according to the script for the Hereford-born striker.
From the next big thing in English football to a forgotten man at Selhurst Park- Wickham’s decline has been a shockingly rapid one and he should consider himself extremely lucky to have earned a new deal.
Palace managed to beat the drop comfortably this term to ensure another season of Premier League football but it is high time for the Eagles to show some ambition and aim for better things than just avoiding relegation season after season.
They secured a respectable 12th-place finish but their goalscoring record of 51 goals in 38 Premier League games epitomises the need to bring in a prolific No.9.
The likes of Christian Benteke, Alexander Sorloth and loanee Jordan Ayew offered next to nothing this season and the Eagles need to get rid of deadwood and bring in some fresh faces, with Wilfred Zaha’s departure almost an inevitability.
With all due respect to his abilities, Wickham falls in the category of deadwood at Selhurst Park and the club’s decision to offer him a new deal cannot be justified by using any means.
With all due respect to his abilities, Wickham falls in the category of deadwood at Selhurst Park and the club’s decision to offer him a new deal cannot be justified by using any means.
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It is just another step backwards that reflects Palace’s lack of ambition and intent to reach greater heights in the Premier League. They should surely look to do some better business over the next two months in a bid to challenge for a top-ten finish next term.