Steven Fletcher? No thanks.

If media reports are to be believed, Norwich City have emerged as the favourites to secure the signing of Scottish striker Steven Fletcher. The 29-year-old, who has been on the books of Sunderland since his transfer from Wolves in 2012, is out-of-contract as of July and would be able to join City on a free transfer. As seems to be the case with all news coming out of the club at the moment, the rumour has been met with a divisive reaction from City supporters. This division was illustrated perfectly by a small Twitter poll of 75 supporters: 59% of whom are in favour of the move, with the remaining 41% failing to see the benefits of bringing in another ageing forward.

On the plus side, Fletcher will obviously add to our worryingly weak forward line. Assuming Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Kyle Lafferty will be moved on, as seems likely, the only senior striker we have is Cameron Jerome. To go into pre-season with just one senior striker would be concerning, so by bringing in Fletcher some of these concerns would be alleviated. Furthermore, as he is out-of-contract his signing shouldn’t make too much of a dent into our budget - allowing us to focus our resources on younger, hungrier forward options who may be able to benefit from Fletcher’s experience. Footballing wise, he has proven throughout his career that he can score goals. Between 2009-13 he surpassed 10 league goals in four consecutive Premier League seasons in struggling Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland sides - showing that he is capable. These hauls are all more than Cameron Jerome’s, who is a 20-goal a season striker in the Championship. If Jerome can be prolific in the Championship, then there is nothing to suggest that Fletcher can’t be. This being said, his form since these four impressive seasons has been questionable. A combination of poor form and injuries has seen him in and out of the Sunderland team (with few goals to show for it), before a surprise loan move to Marseille last season only produced two goals. Much will be dependent on Alex Neil’s ability to help Fletcher discover his form of four years ago - playing alongside fellow Scottish internationals in Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker and Russell Martin should help, whilst the fruitful Jarvis-Fletcher combination that served Wolves so well could potentially be rekindled.

On the contrary, bringing in a 29-year-old Sunderland reject is hardly the sign of ambition that most City fans would like to see in their first summer signing. It was largely hoped that this would be a summer of overhaul - shipping out the ageing, underperforming players and bringing in younger and hungrier replacements. Bringing in Fletcher, as well as having extended the contracts of the similarly ageing Cameron Jerome and Steven Whittaker, acts in conflict with this hope for a fresh overhaul. For me, signing Fletcher would represent a very short-term move - similar to when we signed Cameron Jerome in 2014, who fired us to promotion, but then proved incapable of performing a level higher. Yes, Fletcher may get us promoted but if his recent Premier League form is anything to go by, he - like Jerome - is unlikely to keep us up. When you consider that Fletcher would reportedly be earning £35,000 a week and is known for having a questionable attitude, I would rather steer clear. Links to the likes of Zac Clough - young players who, unlike Fletcher, will be hungry for a first taste of Premier League football, and have time on their side to develop into top-level performers - are, for me, far more enticing.