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Wickham joined Sunderland back in 2011 for a sizeable £8million but it is fair to say that the striker has not quite fulfilled his potential at the club despite showing few glimpses.

“I’m now 27, I play in the Dutch national team, I play a lot of European games and the Premier League for me is the main test; it will be really good to play some games here”.

Tonight will be another indication of how far along his squad are in their pre-season preparations and the Sunderland faithful are certain to be tuning in to find out.

Advocaat introduced Younes Kaboul as one of four changes and as the hour approached Sunderland finally found a way through, but Danny Graham could not convert Lens’ cross.

“I would like to thank [sporting director] Lee Congerton and the head coach [Advocaat] for making this move possible, and I can’t wait to start playing for the Sunderland supporters”.

Sunderland suffered their second defeat of pre-season as they were beaten 3-1 by Mexican outfit Pachuca in a friendly in Sacramento on Friday.

The head coach said: “He is a very experienced player, which is what we need”.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been heavily linked with Manchester United over the past week [via Sky Sports], and the striker has provided an update on his future.

However, reports emerged earlier today suggesting that Downing was edging ever closer to a move, and talkSPORT now claims that the two clubs have agreed a £5m fee.