Connor Wickham has been setting tongues wagging since making his Ipswich debut

Connor Wickham has been setting tongues wagging since making his Ipswich debut when he was barely 16 in April 2009.

Now 17, he has built up a reputation as one of English football’s most exciting striking talents – and after bagging five goals in his last six matches he is starting to fulfil his potential under Paul Jewell.

The new Ipswich boss revealed that Wickham had foreseen his hat-trick against Doncaster, where the Tractor Boys romped to a 6-0 win.

There is little need for a crystal ball to predict Wickham’s future lies away from Portman Road.

Spurs – favourites to meet Ipswich’s £15million price tag – face a fight with Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool to secure Wickham, who fired England Under-17s to European Championship glory last summer.

“I’ve been saying from day one we’ve got to be careful not to overhype the lad,” said Jewell.