Cardiff City have entered the race to sign Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham, with the Bluebirds willing to pay more than Sheffield Wednesday for his services.

Wickham has struggled for games at Selhurst Park this season, making only six Premier League appearances, despite returning a goal and an assist in that time for Crystal Palace.

Sheffield Wednesday are keen on reuniting with the 26-year-old, who played for them between 2013 and 2014, but reports are now suggesting that they face competition from Championship rivals, Cardiff.

According to Alan Nixon, Neil Harris is keen on taking Wickham to Cardiff, who are willing to pay more towards his loan than Wednesday to land the services of the former Ipswich Town and Sunderland forward.

Wickham’s second, and most recent, spell at Wednesday saw him bag eight goals in 11 starts between November 2013 and January 2014, before he moved on for a brief spell with Leeds United.

Currently, both Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff are looking to resurrect their play-off push in the Championship, with Monk’s Owls sitting 10th and four points adrift of Preston North End and Harris’ side a further three points behind.

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The Verdict

From a Sheffield Wednesday perspective, this is pretty worrying news, as the need for a striker has been heightened by a reliance on the now-injured Steven Fletcher.

Wickham would be ideal for Monk’s style of football and getting him on board has been something of a priority over the last few weeks.

However, learning that Cardiff are now in for the forward, and willing to offer Palace what you imagine will be a more lucrative loan offer, you worry for Monk’s chance of landing him.

Forget his previous spell at Hillsborough, the Owls might not be in the driving seat for this deal anymore.

Thoughts? Let us know!