Is it a mistake for Pardew to dismiss making a move for Connor Wickham this summer?

Wickham has been on the scene at Ipswich for a few years now and has show great potential at such a young age. He really is a man in a boys body which has put him, literally high above anyone in his age group due his 6ft 3in body.

He has made 59 appearances for the tractor boys and scored 10 goals - not bad for a team that has been struggling around mid table in the Championship for the last few years. Wickham has also been a England regular at all the different age groups.

As with any player with huge potential come a big price tag - look at the Andy Carroll deal. Therefore Wickham is likely to cost anything between 10m-15m. I agree this could seem a little risky for a 17 however I think Wickham is worth the risk. He is way ahead of where Carroll was at 17 - Wickham is almost at a Rooney level in his development.

Again we are likely to face competition for his signature if we were to pursue a deal - but I really think we could be missing the boat if we do not try and get him now.

I can liken this to the situation with the likes of Dawson at Spurs, Lescott, and Jagielka as in everyone knew they were good players playing in the championship but until some one took the risk on them no one truly believed. Look at where these players are today because someone took the risk and spent money on them.

Wickham is only going to get better and better - one day he will be the leading forward in England and will play at any of the top clubs. Why not go for him now, benefit from his service over the next few years then make some money selling him on in the future.