Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has seemingly ended any hopes of Connor Wickham making an immediate return to Hillsborough when the emergency loan window opens on Friday.
With fellow Black Cats striker Steven Fletcher struggling with an achilles injury that may need surgery in the near future, Poyet said: “It probably makes it more likely that Connor will stay here for longer.”
Wickham has been on the bench for Sunderland’s last two games and Poyet said he would have gone on against Stoke last week but an injury to Phil Bardsley scuppered those plans.
Poyet added: “The decision at the moment is that Connor is our player and we need him here.”