EFL’s bottom club sign former Premier League star on short-term deal to fight against relegation

Crawley Town have signed former Premier League striker Conor Wickham on a free transfer. Wickham has joined Crawley, who sit at the bottom of League Two after 12 games, on a short-term deal. The 33-year-old has played 120 games of top-flight football throughout his long playing career that started in 2009. He most recently represented UAE Second Division side Dubai City after spending over a year without a club. His last team in England was Charlton Athletic in 2024, scoring one goal in just four appearances for the Addicks. But after a spell away, Wickham is now back in home country with Crawley, a few days after they were knocked out of the FA Cup by seventh tier side Wimborne Town. The veteran frontman’s contract runs until early January. That could see him play in up to ten league fixtures for the club, who have won just two games all season in the fourth tier. He featured in the Crawley squad for the first time on the same day he joined in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy on Tuesday. Wickham started on the bench in a defeat to Brentford ‘s U21s before coming on to score on his debut in the second half, proving that his arrival may be a shrewd bit of business. On top of his 120 Premier League appearances, the ex- Sunderland , Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace star has also played 113 times in the Championship and 33 times in League One . In total, he has already played for 11 different clubs, with Crawley being the 12th new side of his career to date. Who else have Crawley signed? Wickham isn’t the only free agent that Crawley have brought in to try and combat their miserable start to the campaign. In a double announcement, Ayman Benarous also joined the club on a free, signing a short-term contract too. Benarous was released by Plymouth Argyle in the summer and had been without a club since being let go. The 23-year-old came through Bristol City’s academy and made 12 first-team appearances before playing 15 times for Plymouth. He started in Crawley’s loss to Brentford U21s on Tuesday night. As did experienced defender Ben Heneghan, who had also joined the club on a short-term deal last week.