Nottingham Forest were understood to be interested in signing Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham this month, according to the Telegraph.
The 26-year-old striker has only made five appearances in the Premier League this season. This has led to speculation about his future, with a handful of Championship sides, potentially including the Reds, said to still be interested.
According to Football.London, Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City are all monitoring the striker’s situation.
The Owls seem to have been most strongly linked with the striker. They are potentially helped by his previous spell at Hillsborough.
Wickham joined Palace in 2015 on a five-year deal for an initial fee of £7 million (BBC Sport). It hasn’t quite worked out for him at Selhurst Park.
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This has been shown by the fact he’s scored just once in seven appearances this season.
The Eagles have a number of attacking players ahead of Wickham in the pecking order. Cenk Tosun joined on loan from Everton earlier this month.
Games
It’s therefore surprising that the striker hasn’t yet jumped at the opportunity for first-team football elsewhere.
Wickham has a good relationship with his manager Hodgson, and Hodgson insists that he’s in no hurry to offload the striker this month.
“When it comes to Connor, it’s really a question about him,” Hodgson said in his press conference earlier today, as quoted by the Nottingham Post.
“I think for his future, he needs to get a run of games. I might not be able to guarantee him that, but I must emphasise he trains well, he is very professional, and if he stays, that is no problem.
“I have nothing against him staying, but it is a discussion the club will need to have with him about, if it is better for him to be the first name on the team sheet somewhere else, which I can’t guarantee him.”
The Eagles have a number of important games coming up in the Premier League. They are back in action against Southampton tomorrow night at Selhurst Park.
If Wickham continues to struggle for first-team action, he may opt to move on this month.
If so, the Reds need to ensure they challenge Sheffield Wednesday for his signature.