Football
ESPN staff 10y

Fletcher, Wickham staying - Poyet

Sunderland strikers Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham will not leave the club in the remaining two weeks of the transfer window, according to Gus Poyet.

Manager Gus Poyet insists that the pair -- whose futures at the club have been the subject of speculation all summer -- are part of his long-term plan for the club.

Fletcher has been linked with a move to Hull City to replace Shane Long, who joined Southampton for 12 million pounds last week.

Wickham, 21, is a reported target for managerless Crystal Palace, with an eight million-pound bid said to be considered for England under-21 international.

Fletcher still has three years remaining on his contract and Wickham has entered the final 12 months of his deal, but Poyet is keen to keep hold of the duo.

"They're staying," Poyet said in the Sunderland Echo. "I'm a big believer that we need to stop the transfer window on the last day before we start the season.

"In the next couple of weeks, as soon as I get a phone call from the chief executive, I don't want to answer! I don't want any offers."

Despite his disapproval of the timing of the transfer deadline and his determination not to lose either Fletcher or Wickham, Poyet conceded that offers of a certain size would be too good to turn down.

"When somebody offers money for a player, you cannot stop that," he said. "I know it sounds typical, but there are offers that no one in the world can refuse."

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