On deadline day, Crystal Palace decided to loan Connor Wickham to Sheffield Wednesday.

It was a decision which made little sense, seeing as he had only recently scored a late equaliser against Norwich on New Years' Day and also played a small part in another late equaliser away to Manchester City before he was waved off to Hillsborough.

Given the lack of depth in Roy Hodgson's squad, some supporters on Twitter also weren't happy with his exit.

However, according to The Athletic, Crystal Palace made the decision to extend his contract prior to the loan in hope of seeing Wickham either perform well enough out to return to Selhurst Park as a genuine competitor for a starting berth, or at least shine enough to ensure the Eagles made some money from selling him - rather than lose him for nothing.

"Palace extended his contract last May with a view to a successful loan spell that would allow him to come back as a genuine competitor for a first-team spot, or as a player they could sell for a fee rather than losing him on a free transfer. He has just over a year left on his current deal."

Judging by his performances under Garry Monk so far, the former Sunderland man looks likely to disappoint the south Londoners in regards to their hopes for him.

In his last four appearances for the Owls, the 26-year-old hasn't achieved a WhoScored match rating higher than 6.9, while failing to score or even assist a goal for the Yorkshire-based outfit.

Against Luton, he failed to have a single shot on target as Sheffield Wednesday succumbed to a 1-0 defeat.

In his most recent outing against Palace's south London rivals Charlton, Wickham completed just 14 passes in 74 minutes of action, while also failing to get a single one of his three shots on target.

With the way the Englishman is performing, it is looking very likely that he will never become a competitive first-team member at Selhurst Park, nor will he have impressed other clubs enough for them to give the Eagles some cash for his services.

With The Athletic's revelation in mind, Wickham is looking set to disappoint his parent club on both counts.

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