Sunderland bid for Wickham agreed

Ipswich have accepted a bid of £9m from Sunderland for striker Connor Wickham, BBC Sport understands.

Wickham, 18, could be a Sunderland player in 24 hours, subject to agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

The deal for the England Under-21 international, who made his Ipswich debut aged 16, could eventually be worth £12.5m with add-ons.

He has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham and Liverpool.

His future has been in doubt despite the fact that he extended his contract with Ipswich until 2014 in April.

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

Wickham was part of England squad for the European Under-21 Championship, although he did not play a match.

Since joining Ipswich as a trainee in July 2008 he has made 33 starts and 32 substitute appearances in the Championship, scoring 13 times.

In May 2010 Wickham helped England to victory in the European Under-17 Championship, scoring the winning goal as they beat Spain 2-1 in the final.

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell said last week that he expected a lot of interest in Wickham over the summer but that the club were under no pressure to sell.

Jewell said: “We don’t want to sell Connor Wickham, but if he wants to leave and the right offer comes in then we’ll have to consider it.

“But until then – Connor’s never given me any indication he wants to leave – our backs aren’t against the wall, we’re in control of the situation.”

It was thought Liverpool were the favourites to sign Wickham and they have made inquiries, but have so far failed to make a big enough offer.

Sunderland’s fresh bid, however, is believed to be sufficient for the Championship club to let him leave and he could be heading to Wearside for talks.

Ipswich announced the signing of former West Bromwich Albion and Watford striker Nathan Ellington last week. They have also bought Michael Chopra from Cardiff City.