Birmingham and Bristol City targeting 27-year-old Premier League player | OneFootball

Championship duo Birmingham and Bristol City are both taking an interest in Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham, a report from a print edition of The Sun (10/01, p58) has claimed.

Wickham has yet to make an appearance for Palace this season, having spent the second half of last season on loan in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, where he scored twice in 13 appearances.

Now it seems as though Birmingham and Bristol City are both looking to take advantage of Wickham’s lack of game time at Selhurst Park as they look to add to their options next month.

According to this latest update, both Championship clubs are checking on Wickham’s fitness levels, before deciding whether or not to make a move for the striker.

It is thought that a permanent move could be a potential outcome here, given the 27-year-old is seemingly some way down the pecking order in Roy Hodgson’s side.

As things stand, there are just six months remaining on his contract at Palace, meaning he could be free to leave the club for nothing at the end of the season.

In total, Wickham has scored 11 goals in 50 appearances for Palace since joining from Sunderland in the summer of 2015, having endured an injury-hit spell at Selhurst Park.

The Verdict

This is an interesting one for Birmingham and Bristol City to consider.

It does seem as though both clubs could do with some extra attacking firepower this month, and Wickham is a play who could potentially offer that.

However, his history with injury must surely be a concern, while it could also be pointed out that he does not have the most prolific scoring record either at Premier League or Football League level recently.

As a result, there would be a bit of risk to a move such as this, so you can understand why both clubs are keen to do their checks on the striker, before deciding whether or not to make their move for the 27-year-old.