Crystal Palace F.C. have completed the signing of Connor Wickham from Sunderland A.F.C. for an undisclosed fee.
Wickham, who joined Sunderland from Ipswich Town for a fee of £8 million in the summer of 2011, has put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Selhurst Park.
The former England Under-21 international scored five goals in 36 English Premier League appearances for the Black Cats last season.
“I spoke to the gaffer last week and he said all the right things about the club and I’ve got friends here who also told me some very good things,” Wickham said.
“I looked at the team before I arrived here and the signings that have been brought in, and the potential to score goals and the chances that could be created was a massive influence. Hopefully I can add to that talent and make the squad stronger.
“I think I needed the fresh start, I had four years up north and it’s been a bit stop-start. Now I’ve come back home and I can settle down and see my family a bit more and hopefully let my football do the talking.”
Palace are priced at 8/1 to suffer relegation to the Sky Bet Championship in 2015/16.
Foxes sign Benalouane
Leicester City F.C. have completed the signing of centre-back Yohan Benalouane from Italian Serie A side Atalanta for an undisclosed fee.
Benalouane, 28, has signed a four-year deal at the King Power Stadium, becoming the Foxes fifth summer signing following the arrivals, of Christian Fuchs, N’Golo Kante, Robert Huth and Shinji Okazaki.
The 28-year-old will be available for the Foxes’ Premier League opener against Sunderland at the weekend.
“My first impression is very good,” Benalouane said.
“In this city, and in England, the most important thing is football. I hope I can do my best in this team, because I’m very, very happy to be here.
“My favourite position is central defender and I like to play with the ball and control my defence. I’m a player with power and I have technical quality. I hope to use this at Leicester.
“I spoke with Claudio Ranieri and I’m very happy to work with him. For me and for everyone, he is a very big manager.
“He told me it’s different to Italy, because it’s very high-impact. Now I hope that I can have a great season.”
Benalouane scored one goal in 27 Serie A appearances for Atalanta in 2014/15.
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