Connor Wickham is pledging his future to Ipswich Town.

The England Under-17 striker, who celebrated his 17th birthday while on international duty on Wednesday, had caught the eye of Arsenal, Spurs and Fulham.

But with 24 first team appearances already for Town, Wickham has elected to continue his development at Portman Road with a contract until June 2012 - the maximum length for a player his age.

Wickham said: "Ipswich was always the place I wanted to be.

"It wasn't a difficult decision to make at all - the only thing I had on my mind was Ipswich.

"I've gone out on the pitch and proved what I can do and hopefully I can carry that into next season and the rest of this season.

"I just want to spend as much time on the pitch as I can, do as well as I can, and get Ipswich into the Premier League which is what everybody wants.

"It's every boy's dream to become a professional footballer and I'm just grateful I've got the talent to be able to do what I can do and I'm honoured to sign with Ipswich."