Ex-Sunderland frontman Connor Wickham has blamed his lack of chances upfront for Sunderland as the reason behind his Black Cats career not hitting off.
He joined Sunderland from Championship side Ipswich Town for a £8m fee when he was just 17-years-old but failed to ever live up to the hype of his transfer fee before eventually being sold this summer to Crystal Palace for £9m.
He scored just 11 Premier League goals in his four years at The Stadium Of Light; playing 74 times in the English top flight for Sunderland. However, the 22-year-old forward has blamed the fact that he was featured out wide in many of them games for his lack of goals.
It was a surprise, and relief, for Sunderland fans to see that Palace actually paid £9m for the Englishman as he has not ever established himself as a Premier League goalscorer. Palace have already found that out the hard way. Wickham has played just four times in the league this season; scoring a whopping zero goals.
Speaking about his time at Sunderland ahead of his new sides clash with them tomorrow, Wickham said this:
I had four years up at Sunderland and I’m grateful for what they did for me. But now I’ve a new project.
I got five goals to help them avoid the drop. That was a good period for me. I’ve always known I can score goals.
That was the only time I was given a chance to play as a striker there and prove I could do it.
But the following season I went back to playing on the left and my confidence got knocked again.
Now I have come to a club which has a manager who believes in me.
I’m a million times happier at Palace than I was at Sunderland.
I can play down the middle and I’ve got two wingers to run off me and two who will run in behind me.
