Connor Wickham’s time at Preston North End was disappointing yet predictable. The 28-year-old has suffered with injuries throughout his career and his time at Preston was no different.
He made his debut at home to West Bromwich Albion with a brief cameo substitute appearance. He did look promising in that game, as he was keen to get involved and was a handful for the defence.
Just days later, Wickham was handed a start in the Carabao Cup against Cheltenham Town but unfortunately pulled up with a hamstring injury after just two minutes.
His recuperation continued at the club until he left earlier in January. He hasn’t had to wait long for a new deal elsewhere though.
In what is something of a coup for League One side MK Dons, Wickham has signed a contract until the end of the season.
Wickham has been training with the Dons recently, so hopefully for his sake he is back to full fitness and can finish off the season without any further injuries.
The MK Dons manager Liam Manning worked in the Ipswich Town academy when Wickham was there, whilst the sporting director Liam Sweeting was at Crystal Palace with Wickham.
The Dons are having a great season under Manning and currently lie in fifth place in League One as they eye a return to the Championship for the first time since 2016.
For Wickham he will just be desperate to get a run of games under his belt anywhere and the chance to score a few goals as part of a promotion push is a bonus to him.
There is no doubting Wickham’s pedigree and if he had stayed fit it could have been a very shrewd free transfer.
Preston were in need of another striker to compete with the existing players, and find themselves on the lookout once again in this transfer window, as we forever seem to be.
With just 10 days of the window remaining, we will see if one is brought in. They will have to fit Ryan Lowe’s style of play and so far it seems like Cameron Archer is the most likely to come in.