SUNDERLAND last night launched a £10million bid for long-term target Steven Fletcher â and the club expect to agree terms with the striker before the end of this week. The Journal revealed in April the Wolves star (pictured left) was a top priority for Martin OâNeill and now the Irishman believes he is only days away from securing the Scotâs signature. It is understood Sunderland tested the water two weeks ago for the 25-year-old, although sources at Wolves described that first offer as âderisoryâ. They hope and expect yesterdayâs move will be treated more seriously and Fletcher will be a Stadium of Light player in the near future. Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey has always knownthere was little hope of his club hanging on to Fletcher this summer following relegation. While he will attempt to haggle for more money, and a figure of £20m was even mooted at one point, a fee of £10m would be seen as a fair price by both parties for a player with ability and potential. Aston Villa, Fulham, Stoke and a clutch of foreign clubs have targeted Fletcher this summer, but Sunderland has always been his preferred option. The former Hibs and Burnley player has scored 36 goals in the past three seasons, all with clubs struggling near the foot of the table, and OâNeill believes he can transform him into the 20-goal a season striker he needs to take the club forward. OâNeill has finally run out of patience with the clubâs current strikers who have failed to impress him this pre-season as the teamâs goalscoring woes show no sign of being cured. Friday nightâs 1-0 defeat at the hands of League Oneâs Hartlepool United was the perfect example of why a top-ten finish eluded the Black Cats last time. In the second-half at Victoria Park, when Sunderland completely dominated the game, OâNeillâs side created half a dozen clear-cut chances and took not one. Frazier Campbell and Connor Wickham both missed decent opportunities, with Campbell shooting wide from a few yards out in the final minute of the friendly match. OâNeill is not a manager to publicly criticise his players, but he did not see the point of trying to mask what his teamâs very obvious problems continue to be. The centre-forwards currently at the club are not, on the evidence shown so far, anywhere near ready for a Premier League season and OâNeill will use this week to try to hurry along the process of adding goalscorers to his squad. Fletcher will not be the last striker to arrive on Wearside before the current transfer window closes. The Sunderland manager said: âWe know where the problems are. You just need to look at our scoring record last season. âThis puts pressure on other players to score goals, either from set-pieces or from the midfielders. âEventually centre-forwards have to weigh-in with them and, at the moment, you would want to know who is going to score 15 goals in a Premier League season â and when that will happen. âFriday was a decent exercise and the players fitness is at least getting better, but I was not pleased with the performance. âIt is pre-season and players are getting themselves ready, but they must do better.â Sunderland have no game this week and the players will be at the Academy of Light every day under the watchful eye of the manager and his assistant Steve Walford. However, even at Hartlepool there were encouraging signs, especially in the midfield, which pleased the manager, as did the news Wes Brown will at most just miss the first two weeks of the season with his knee problem. OâNeill added: âWe were stronger in the second-half. We were only back three days before we went out to Korea and then played two games in relatively quick succession in what were hot and humid conditions. So it hs been pretty hectic. âThis week is a free week and we will work on a lot of things, be it fitness or patterns of play.â Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/safc/s...steven-fletcher-61634-31503341/#ixzz225l6CYSR
Similar stuff in the echo... http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport...ve-in-chase-for-wolves-ace-fletcher-1-4785981
