Connor Wickham has officially left Crystal Palace on a free after his contract expired, as reported by Berkshire Live.

The Lowdown: Wickham has had a torrid time

Acquired from Sunderland for £9m back in August 2015 [Chronicle Live], the 1.89m (6 foot 3) ace registered 11 goals and five assists in 50 appearances during his time at Selhurst Park [Transfermarkt].

Despite being a pricey purchase, Wickham has suffered serious injury problems in SE25. Constantly ravaged by injuries in 2020/21, he did not muster a single outing for the Eagles at first team level last term [Soccerbase].

However, he did manage to bag two goals in two games while plying his trade in Premier League 2 with Crystal Palace under-23s [Transfermarkt].

The Latest: Wickham released

The former Ipswich youth is now free to ponder his next move after being named on the south Londoners' released list of players, alongside the likes of Gary Cahill, Andros Townsend, James McCarthy and Nathaniel Clyne [The Sun].

Following the departure of Roy Hodgson as manager, Palace are said to be looking to the future as they rebuild for 2021/22.

As for Wickham, the Hereford-born striker’s next move is undetermined. Formerly a target for Championship side Reading, he may feel he still has something to offer at a high level if he can prove his fitness over the coming weeks [Berkshire Live].

The Verdict: Right time to part ways

The former England under-21 international has been highly unfortunate throughout his career. At 28, he may feel he could have still had a future at Palace if it weren't for a spate of fitness concerns.

Once labelled as ‘influential’ by former Eagles manager Alan Pardew [Sports Mole] and hailed for a "massive performance" against Newcastle in 2015 by Wilfried Zaha [Evening Standard], Crystal Palace fans didn’t get to see enough of his qualities at Selhurst Park. In spite of early promise, now is the correct time to let him leave as they seek to bring in positional reinforcements.

In other news, these Crystal Palace fans give their thoughts on a rumoured transfer target.