Newcastle Interested In Signing Ipswich Town Starlet Connor Wickham

Newcastle United are believed to be interested in acquiring the services of Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham.

The 17-year-old is thought to be wanted by the Tyneside club following Andy Carroll's recent record-breaking departure to Liverpool. The £35 million deal smashed the British transfer record - though Fernando Torres' £50m move from the Merseyside club to Chelsea later eclipsed that fee on the same day.

The 6ft 3in (1.91m) Ipswich forward has been making waves with his talent and performances, representing England at the Under-17, U-19 and U-21 levels.

Now The News of the World claims that the youngster is willing to make the step up rom the Championship to the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked with a move for Wickham, who originally played youth football with Reading before making the move to Ipswich in 2006.

He scored the winning goal in the UEFA European U17 Championship final in May 2010, and is the youngest player ever to have made a first-team appearance for Ipswich, coming on as a substitute against Doncaster Rovers on April 11 2009 aged 16 years and 11 days, beating Jason Dozzell's record by 46 days.