CONNOR WICKHAM has completed his move to Crystal Palace in a deal which is expected to earn Sunderland £9million.

Wickham has put pen to paper on a five-year deal under Alan Pardew at Selhurst Park and brings an end to a four-year stay on Wearside.

The 22-year-old scored 15 goals in his 91 appearances for the Black Cats after signing for £8.1million in 2011, scoring vital goals in Sunderland’s successful battle against relegation in 2013-14 under Gus Poyet.

However, head coach Dick Advocaat admitted that although he would have liked to have kept the Hereford-born frontman at Sunderland, the decision boiled down to numbers as the Dutchman felt there were too many strikers in the Black Cats’ squad.

“We have too many strikers, and if I could have held on to them all, I wouldn’t really have wanted to sell him at just 22 years of age,” Advocaat said. “But we simply had too many players in that position, and that’s why the decision was made.”

Wickham, who signed for Sunderland from Ipswich Town and enjoyed loan spells at Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, is pleased to be making the move south.

“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,” he 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.”