Crawley Town have signed former Premier League striker Connor Wickham and ex-Bristol City midfielder Ayman Benarous as they look to climb off the bottom of League Two.
Both players arrived as free agents on short-term contracts that run until early January.
Wickham Scores On His Crawley Debut
Both signings were in action on Tuesday night, with Benarous starting and Wickham coming off the bench. The striker converted a late penalty after Crawley had fallen two goals behind, but the Reds went out of the competition with a 2-1 EFL Trophy defeat to Brentford Under-21s.
Wickham, 33, made his senior debut for Ipswich Town at 16 and moved to Sunderland in 2011. He helped the Black Cats stay up in 2013/14, scoring five goals in four games during the run that earned him the Premier League Player of the Month award for April 2014.
He went on to play in the top flight for Crystal Palace and later had spells with Forest Green Rovers and Cardiff City. He spent part of last season with Dubai City in the United Arab Emirates, and Crawley are his first English club since he left Charlton Athletic in 2024.
Benarous Gets Another Chance In The EFL
Benarous, 23, came through Bristol City’s academy and made his senior debut against Barnsley in October 2021. He played 12 times in his breakthrough season, but two anterior cruciate ligament injuries interrupted his progress and he left Ashton Gate in 2025 without making another senior appearance for the Robins.
The midfielder earned a one-year deal at Plymouth Argyle after a trial and made 15 appearances in all competitions. He was dropped from Argyle’s league squad at the end of the January window and reinstated in February, but his final appearance remained the Boxing Day defeat to Reading. Benarous spent part of pre-season on trial at Swindon Town after leaving Home Park in the summer.
Crawley Face Two Home Games In Four Days
Interim manager Kevin Blackwell took over from Colin Kazim-Richards in October and picked up his first league win at Oldham Athletic. That was only Crawley’s second victory in 12 league games, and they sit three points behind 23rd-placed Colchester United. Crawley have two games in hand on Rotherham United, who sit one place above the relegation zone.
The signings follow the arrival of experienced centre-back Ben Heneghan on a similar deal. Blackwell pointed to Wickham and Heneghan as players who could give Crawley more physical presence and discussed the balance of his squad after the Brentford defeat.
“We’ve got to look at balancing the physical and technical side.”
With Saturday’s trip to Rotherham postponed because of international call-ups, both players could make their league debuts when Fleetwood Town visit on 21 November. Barnet follow three days later, giving Blackwell two home games in quick succession to see what the new arrivals can add.
