Sunderland facing fight for Fletcher

If Sunderland were thinking that it may be easy to march into relegated Wolves in order to buy their star-striker Steven Fletcher then they must think again as the angry Wolves are making it clear that the Scot will not be leaving Molineux without a fight. 

The now-Championship club have told Sunderland in no uncertain terms that they must put up the £12 million asking price for the striker after an initial bid of £10 million was laughed away by Jez Moxey and co. in the Wolves boardroom.

Now, the Guardian are reporting that Martin O'Neill is ready to stretch to a final offer of the required £12 million after playing a cheeky game of bidding trial and error, with an offer of £11 million also being dismissed by the Midlands club.

According to Sky, speculation had been rife that Wolves had buckled to the Black Cats' interest in Fletcher by accepting a bid, but Jez Moxey told the Express and Star that such reports were nonsense.

Sunderland may also face some competition in the form of Aston Villa according to the Birmingham Mail as Paul Lambert has a bit of a fancy for the 25 year old hitman who hit 24 Premier League goals for Wolves since moving from Burnley in 2010. 

Now it looks like Sunderland are still favourites for the striker's signature however but they must understand, according to Sky, that Wolves will not let the Ex-Hibernian forward leave for less than what they believe he is worth.