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Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham will reject any move to Sunderland because he is holding out for a move to Liverpool or Arsenal.

The 18-year-old is currently the subject of an £8million approach from the Black Cats, but would prefer signing for the Reds, as he was a boyhood fan, or the Gunners,who have a history of nurturing young talent.

The England U21 international has impressed for both club and country this season and has been on the radar of Premier League clubs for the last two years, according to the Metro.

But Wickham’s preference of a move will not deter Sunderland boss Steve Bruce who is searching for a striker to replace Darren Bent who moved to Aston Villa in January.

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell expects a lot of interest in his teenage hit-man over the summer but insists the club is under no pressure to sell as Wickham only signed a new deal to keep him at the club until 2014 in April.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City midfielder Sebastian Larsson arrived on Wearside to complete a medical ahead of his free transfer to Sunderland.

The Swedish international has agreed to join Bruce’s men, and despite interest from the Liverpool, Aston Villa and Blackburn, will be unveiled at the Stadium of Light on July 1.

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Ipswich Town youngster Billy Clark has been told he can leave the club straight away by boss Paul Jewell, following his outburst on Twitter.

The 19-year-old midfielder used the social network site to announce he was not being offered a new deal.

And then replied to a well-wishing follower he was “glad to be out of there to be honest”.

Jewell told BBC Radio Suffolk: “He didn’t tell me that, if he’s glad to be out of here he can go now if he wants.”

A number of footballers have come under fire for comments they have made on Twitter, and Jewell says players need to use the tool sensibly.

“It’s only a danger if you put silly things on,” he added.

“I don’t know how many tweeters or whatever Billy’s got but instead of going on Twitter he can talk to me face-to-face.”

Clark has since removed his Twitter account from public viewing. (BBC Sport)

It seems that the Twitter/footballer curse can even haunt players outside the top flight. It is always a dangerous game to voice your opinions in such a public sphere and clearly Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell is not the type of manager to think twice about axing an unhappy player. Where next for Billy Clark? Well I guess his Twitter updates will reveal all in due course.

Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham has signed a new one-year contact extension heading off interest from Premier League clubs.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were all keen on the 18-year-old but any deal has been put on ice after this new deal.

The England U21 international signed a contract to stay at Portman Road until 2013 in January but has now agreed a year’s extension.

Wickham has made 67 appearances for Town, 35 of them off the bench, and has scored 13 times, seven of which have come this season.

“It might stop all the speculation, for a little bit anyway,” Ipswich manager Paul Jewell told BBC Radio Suffolk.

“A lot is expected of Connor Wickham every time he goes on the pitch but what people have to remember is he’s only 18.

“Sometimes I have to remember he’s only 18.

“He’s only been in the game two minutes and an awful lot has been said about him and he deals with it really well.

“Hopefully we can develop him as a player and help him become a Premier League player, hopefully with us.”

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Paul Jewell appointed Ipswich manager on a two-and-a-half year deal
Ipswich have appointed Paul Jewell as their new manager on a two-and-a-half year contract.

The Championship club have been on the lookout for a new manager since sacking Roy Keane on Friday and were trounced 7-0 by Chelsea in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Stamford Bridge.
Jewell’s first priority will be to halt an alarming slide which sees Town languishing in 19th place and three points above the relegation zone after a run of seven defeats in nine games.
First, however, Ipswich face Arsenal in the first leg of the Carling Cup and Jewell has confirmed that he would not be taking charge for the game.
Coaches Ian McParland and Tony Loughlan will prepare for the tie with Jewell officially starting work on Thursday morning.
Jewell said: “Tony and Charlie (McParland) will be in charge on Wednesday night and I will take charge on Thursday. (Telegraph)

Football needs managers like Paul Jewell. The scouse manager has been out of the game for over two years and whilst he was a flop at Derby County he proved during his six year stint in charge of Wigan that he could bring out the best out of average if not spectacular players and Ipswich Town will be hoping that he can help pull the club away from the drop zone.

The East Anglian side are just three points from the relegation zone after winning just one of their last nine Championship matches.

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Since that win, Kevin Keegan has been hired and sacked (or forced to resign) from the Toon, England-striker Fraizer Campbell has been at three different clubs and Manchester United have recorded 26 Premier League victories.

Over the past eighteen months, Derby County has shown an intent to make history. They equalled now-defunct Loughbourough’s 108 year-old record of having only one win in a season. They also smashed Sunderland’s record of 15 for lowest points ever in the Premier League by tallying a dismal 11.

It seemed as if things could not get worse for the pathetic Rams, but they now stare a new milestone in the eye. If they do not win either of their next two matches (home to Sheffield United, away to Swansea City), they will go a full year without tallying a win in league play.

After losing at dismal Barnsley, who hadn’t scored a point in their first three games, things are looking bleak for Paul Jewell’s men. They have managed one goal in their four league games, while conceding five. Last weekend, they loaned one of their only useful (read: not horribly atrocious) players, Tyrone Mears, to Olympique de Marseille.

Making matters worse, they first must host Sheffield United. They are in fifth and have enjoyed a hot start, including a 3-0 drubbing of popular pick for promotion, Queens Park Rangers. After that, they must travel to Wales to face Swansea City, in their last chance to get a victory before they are even further shamed. The Swans sit seventh, tied with Sheffield United on seven points. They have been in good form, recently knocking footballing giants, Hull City, out of the Carling Cup.

While they may shock the world, if I was a betting man (which I am), I wouldn’t be taking a punt on the Rams against either of these clubs, because, frankly, I don’t like throwing away hard-earned cash.

What do you think? Will Derby pull off the treble (lowest points ever, only one win, 365 days without a win)? Or can they gain back a (tiny) bit of what dignity they have left? Is this treble the worst achievement in football history? What is next for the Rams? Will Abu Dhabi United take pity on them a throw them some millions?!?!?

It’s been an appalling reign for Jewell, whose stock has fallen badly since he took the job. Previously, he had done extremely well at Bradford and Wigan, securing promotion with both clubs from the Championship. However, this seems a distant prospect at Pride Park with just one point from their opening three matches. The Daily Mirror report that he could be on his way this week.

Paul Jewell is under threat of the axe at Derby – just three games into the season.

The Rams boss has now gone a staggering 27 matches without a League win since he replaced Billy Davies last November.

In fact, Jewell’s calamitous time at Pride Park is the longest managerial reign in English football history without a League victory.

In total, Derby have not seen three points for 35 matches stretching back to September 17 last year when they turned over Newcastle.

But the club’s American owners, who stuck by Jewell last season in the Premier League, have lost faith in his ability to turn things around.

Derby’s latest defeat saw them comprehensively outplayed and humiliated in front of their own 27,000 crowd by cash-strapped Southampton.

Is the Derby manager stuck in a rut that he can’t get out of, or should he be given more time to turn things round? The defeat to Saints will be especially galling, with Southampton having to cut costs to stay afloat, compared to County’s summer splurge in the transfer market.

Saturday’s match against Doncaster was a fairly evenly-matched affair, with the Rams having enough chances to win, but supporters can have few complaints about the visitors taking the spoils. It’s clear that Jewell is under pressure to deliver and, while the knives are starting to be sharpened already, the Daily Mirror reports that the scouser remains confident of turning things around.

He said: “The wolves will be at the door already because of what happened last season. If I’d have taken the job in the summer and put together the team we’ve got today, they’d be saying ‘Oh, it will take time.’ “As I’ve said before, I’ve been in the Championship three years as a manager and won two promotions.

“The other time we finished seventh so I think my record stands up well to scrutiny. But for every manager, you’re only as good as your last game.

“I do feel we are only one game away from getting the monkey off our backs. There’s only one way to do it and that’s to start winning football matches, beginning on Tuesday against Lincoln.”

Wolves at the door? County don’t play Wolverhampton until December! Oh, Jewell is being proverbial, I see. The fact of the matter is that the Derby manager can brag all he likes about his record in this division, although it counts for little when he’s splurging the cash and not achieving results.

The Derby Evening Telegraph is by far the greatest local paper the world has ever seen, and they carry the words of the scouser on the eve of the big kick-off. He seems all-too-aware of the club’s current reputation after such a dismal showing last campaign, and is keen as mustard to right those wrongs.

It would be understandable if Jewell were nervous ahead of the big kick off but when asked how he was feeling, he replied: “Nervous? No. Excited? Yes.

“I am not frightened by the challenge. I have been through a lot in my career, some good some bad, but I desperately want to do well for the support I have had here from the chairman and the fans.

“This is the best club I have been at as far as facilities and support is concerned.

“I would love to emulate the success I have had at other clubs here because the club is ready for it and the supporters deserve it.”

It’s been a strange old ride for Derby fans in the past two seasons. They weren’t expected to land promotion the season before last, with Billy Davies steering them to the promised land at the first time of asking. While it was clearly at least a season too early for the Rams, they are richer (financially especially) for the experience, can they go close this term?

The Press Association reports that County boss Paul Jewell is far from happy with some of the comments made by Royals assistant manager Kevin Dillon ahead of the match. The latter has said the following.

“Let’s put it this way, if we can’t beat Derby, it will be hard to take.”

However, the fiery Scouser has not taken these comments lying down and Reading probably could have done without indirectly motivating a team who might otherwise have gone through the motions instead at the weekend.

“Kevin Dillon’s comments lack tact. You would think Reading had been playing Champions League all these seasons instead of down in the Championship and the Second Division where Derby and Wigan also came from.

“At Derby this year we’ve been sneered at, we’ve been laughed at, we’ve been ridiculed and I can accept it after the season we’ve had – but for Reading to say things like that is not right.

“The lads have been speaking about it and if I was Reading, who do you want to come to last game of the season? A side that have won once at home all season – but it’s a dangerous game they’re playing,” Jewell added.

Can Derby go out with a bang and drag Reading into the Championship with them? It doesn’t bode well for Steve Coppell’s men, who have failed to score in their past six matches and will be relegated if Fulham win at Portsmouth anyway. Just what is going to happen at Pride Park on Sunday?

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Derby manager Paul Jewell laments:

It isn’t good news. We’re sending him for a second opinion.

It isn’t cruciate ligament damage but until we get a second opinion we’ll not know too much more.

The news is not as bad for Derby as it is for the player himself. Derby are guaranteed to drop down into the Championship at the end of the season but Giles Barnes would certainly have loved to continue playing football. Poor lad, may he recover soon. Amen.