Connor Wickham signs new Sunderland deal

Sunderland A.F.C. forward Connor Wickham has put pen to paper on a new four-and-a-half year deal at the Stadium of Light.

The England Under-21 international, who has tallied two goals and one assist in 15 English Premier League appearances in 2014/15, was set to become a ‘free agent’ at the end of the season, but will now stay on Wearside.

The Black Cats reportedly rejected West Ham United’s £4 million for Wickham last summer after the player helped the club complete the “great escape” by netting five goals against the likes of Cardiff City, Chelsea, and Manchester City late last term.

“I’m delighted that Connor has committed his future to us for the next few years,” Sunderland manager Gus Poyet told the club’s official website.

“After his contribution at the end of last year, he has continued to improve his football and become an important part of our team.

“He keeps learning, he is able to adapt to different positions up front and he is enjoying our philosophy of play so I’m really looking forward to keep working with him for the benefit of our club.

“I think it was very important to tie down a young English centre forward as there are not many around; this shows clearly the way this football club wants to progress.”

Rodgers blasts ref after Markovic sees red

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has criticised referee Bjorn Kuipers after Basel eliminated the Reds from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night at Anfield.

Kuipers sent off Lazar Markovic after the attacker’s hand grazed Basel defender Behrang Safari, who obviously made the most of the challenge, forcing the Kuipers into a difficult decision.

Ultimately, Kuipers made the wrong decision, according to Rodgers.

Rodgers told ITV: “I thought it was an awful decision. I thought the referee was disappointing on the evening to say the least. Markovic came on and was bright. He made a difference to the team, he was dynamic. He’s just taken a touch away, he’s obviously got his arm up. If that’s a sending off you’re going to get two to three sendings off every single game.

“It was a really, really poor decision. I’m not even sure if the referee has seen it. I think he’s seen the player hold his face and lie down but there’s no way that was a sending off.”

Although Liverpool are out of the Champions League, they will enter the UEFA Europa League after the upcoming festive period.