Sunderland make £8m Wickham bid

Wickham was in the England Under-21 squad for the European Championship

Sunderland have made an offer thought to be in the region of £8m for Ipswich’s highly rated striker Connor Wickham, the BBC understands.

The 18-year-old has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham and Liverpool.

Wickham is regarded as one of the game’s brightest talents and was in England’s Under-21 squad for the European Championship in Denmark.

Sunderland are also in talks with midfielder Sebastian Larsson, 26.

The Swedish international was released by Birmingham following their relegation from the Premier League.

Wickham’s future has been the subject of much speculation this summer, despite the teenager extending his contract until 2014 back in April.

He became Town’s youngest ever player at the age of 16 years and 11 days, coming off the bench in a 3-1 defeat to Doncaster in April 2009.

Since then, Wickham has gone on to make 33 starts and 32 substitute appearances in the Championship, scoring 13 times.

He made his mark on the international stage last summer, scoring the winning goal as England defeated Spain 2-1 in the final of the European Under-17 Championship.

More to follow.