Former Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham has signed for Championship club Preston North End.

The 28-year-old joins the Lancashire club on a short-term deal until January 13 having been released by Crystal Palace at the end of last season.

Wickham became Ipswich's youngest ever player when making his debut age 16 and 11 days back in April 2009.

After scoring 13 goals in 37 starts and 35 sub appearances for the Blues, he made an £8m move to then Premier League club Sunderland in the summer of 2011.

Another big money switch followed, to Crystal Palace in 2015, but injuries soon struck. The former England U21 international's last senior appearance was in July 2020 on loan for Sheffield Wednesday.

"It’s taken a little bit longer than I would have liked, but I’m just happy that it’s done now and I can start to look to the future now," said Wickham, who played a trial game for the Lilywhites against Walsall last week.

“I was thankful that the club gave me the opportunity to come in in the first place and train and get my fitness back.

“I sat down and had a good few chats with the manager over the course of the three weeks. I’ve got to earn the right to get in the team, but hopefully it’s going to work out well.”

Preston boss Frankie McAvoy said: “He came in and just looked a wee bit off the pace, but that was to be expected.

“He’s worked extremely hard through training sessions, some games in-house and obviously we got the opportunity to see him against Walsall.

“He’s shown that he’s got something to offer. It’s going to take a wee bit of time to be honest, but hopefully he can kick on and become a part of us going forward."