MARTIN O'Neill is set to release Connor Wickham on loan despite Sunderland's lack of success in front of goal this season.

Wickham, who cost £8.1m when he moved from Ipswich, has not played a single minute of senior football this season, but confirmed his enduring ability when he scored both goals in the development side's 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Thursday afternoon.

The England Under-21 international has pleaded for an opportunity to help address a scoring drought that has seen Sunderland claim just six goals in eight league matches this season, but his claims have consistently been overlooked.

Burnley and Blackburn have made offers to take Wickham on loan, with a number of other Championship clubs also understood to be interested in securing his services.

And with Steven Fletcher, Louis Saha and Fraizer Campbell currently ahead of the 19-year-old in the Wearside pecking order, O'Neill is poised to sanction his temporary departure.

“In recent weeks, Connor has done very well indeed,” he said. “He's done well in training and I think he's very keen to do well in the team now. But of course there are a couple of centre-forwards barring his way at the minute.

“A couple of clubs have asked about him in terms of going on loan, and that's something I'll give some consideration to now. I wasn't going to do anything until after Tuesday night because we've been in the middle of a hectic programme.

“Maybe now, and I'm not just talking about Connor here, there are a couple of players I think need some games. One of the most important issues is that if you're going to be coming into a game in the Premier League, you need to be as fit as you possibly can be.

“Phil Bardsley started his first game for a long time on Tuesday, and was feeling the effects of it. It was also a first start since MK Dons for Saha and (David) Vaughan, and it's difficult to come in. It's hard to get to the pace of the game immediately if you've not been playing.”

Ji Dong-won, who partnered Wickham in the development side two days ago, could also leave on loan this month, but a lack of defensive cover means O'Neill is unlikely to sanction the exit of Matt Kilgallon, another player to have attracted interest from a range of Championship clubs.

Kilgallon was the only defender on the bench during this week's Capital One Cup defeat to Middlesbrough, and his importance is enhanced by the ongoing injury problems afflicting Wes Brown.

Brown has not played since injuring his knee in January's 2-0 win over Swansea, and the former Manchester United centre-half has suffered yet another setback to his recovery this week.

He travelled to London for further scans and treatment, and is not now expected to play until the turn of the year at the earliest, with O'Neill admitting his experience and authority has been missed.

“Wes has been out for so long that you almost don't factor him into the equation,” he said. “It would be great if he was fit and available, but just as we speak, he's had a setback again and he'll be out for a few more weeks than we thought.

“He's been out for a fairly lengthy time already and I'm quite sure his ability and experience could help us, absolutely. But he's been out for so long.”

In Brown's absence, John O'Shea and Carlos Cuellar have formed Sunderland's first-choice strike pairing, and it will be interesting to see if the pair are asked to shackle former Black Cat Darren Bent when Aston Villa visit Wearside this afternoon.

Bent left the North-East in acrimonious circumstances when he made an £18m move to Villa in January 2011, but since then, it is fair to say the England international's career has not taken off as anticipated.

He has made just six league starts this season, with Villa boss Paul Lambert preferring to pair summer signing Christian Benteke with Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has not scored a Premier League goal for more than a year.

Like Sunderland, Villa have struggled to score goals all season – their tally of seven is the second lowest in the league behind the Black Cats – but O'Neill feels it is only a matter of time before his former club's strike force begins to click into gear.

“Villa have a very potent attack, and I'm sure it won't be long before they start to really show that,” he said. “Darren Bent, who cost the club a lot of money, isn't even in the starting line-up at the moment, so you wouldn't think it would be a struggle for them to score goals.”