Steven Fletcher was released by Premier League club Sunderland in the summer of 2016, and Sheffield Wednesday signed him on a free transfer.
Fletcher moved from Wolves to Sunderland for £12 million in the summer of 2012 after the Midlands club was demoted to the Championship, despite the striker’s 12-goal effort in the 2011/12 season.
Four years later, the Scottish forward became available as a free agent, and the Owls pounced, with Fletcher helping Carlos Carvalhal’s side return to the play-offs for the second year in a row following their Wembley defeat to Hull.
Fletcher scored 38 goals in 136 appearances for the club, so the bargain deal to bring him in proved to be a bargain. He left the club on a free transfer in 2020 and joined Stoke City.
Fletcher was a reliable goalscorer until being released by Sunderland
Fletcher began to build a reputation for himself in English football with Burnley as they prepared to enter the Premier League for the first time in the 2009/10 season.
Despite the Clarets’ relegation, Fletcher’s 12 goals that season earned him a £7 million move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were promoted to the top division with Burnley in 2009.
During his two years at Molineux under Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor, he was the club’s highest scorer, reaching double digits twice in the Premier League. However, his total of 12 was insufficient to keep Wolves from relegation in May 2012.
Sunderland were after the relegated player, and Wolves were determined that the striker would not move unless the Black Cats fulfilled the Midlands club’s £12 million valuation.
After submitting a transfer request, Fletcher moved on to Sunderland, where he scored 23 goals in 108 appearances, one fewer than his tally in the Midlands, where he tallied 24 times in 67 games.
| Steven Fletcher’s pre-Sheffield Wednesday stats (Transfermarkt) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Club | Appearances | Goals |
| Hibernian | 189 | 52 |
| Burnley | 38 | 12 |
| Wolves | 67 | 24 |
| Sunderland | 108 | 23 |
| Marseille | 18 | 3 |
After a disappointing loan spell with French club Marseille in the second half of the 2015-16 season, Fletcher was released by Sunderland and became a free agent in the summer of 2016.
The Owls relied heavily on bargain acquisitions
Fletcher joined the club in the summer of 2016 and scored 10 goals during the Championship regular season, helping the Owls reach the play-offs for the second year in a row under Carlos Carvalhal.
Wednesday’s performance deteriorated in subsequent years. However, the striker was a regular under a number of different managers during his stint at the club.
His glimpses of Premier League quality were something Wednesday had grown accustomed to throughout his four-year tenure, with his final two seasons seeing him end as the blue and white side’s top league scorer.
Fletcher left Hillsborough just before the completion of the prolonged 2019-20 season, having scored 38 goals in 136 games with the club.
The 36-year-old joined Stoke City in August 2020, scoring 12 goals in 82 appearances before moving on to Dundee United in Scotland and Wrexham as they tried to continue their promotion push in 2023.
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