Sky Sports presenter backs ex Hibs and Sheffield Wednesday star for 'key' Wrexham role in English Championship

A former Hibs and Sheffield Wednesday star looks bound for an English Championship return with Wrexham - according to one pundit.

Steven Fletcher laid the foundations for a successful career in the game at Hibs, where he featured over 100 times before moving down south to Burnley. He has since racked up a century of appearances for the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland while also enjoying a French foray at Marseille. His career was at a crossroads after exiting Dundee United and he opted for Wrexham, who have shot to fame and up the English pyramid amid US backing from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney .

They are closing in on promotion out of League One and now into his late 30s, Fletcher has taken on the role of impact sub and occasional starter with Phil Parkinson, notching eight goals this term. David Prutton, a Sky Sports presenter and ex Nottingham Forest plus Sheffield Wednesday star, has weighed in on Fletcher’s situation.

Wrexham stay tipped for Ex Hibs and Sheffield Wednesday man

Currently a point off the automatic promotion spots, he believes the former Hibs ace would still have a major role to play if the Red Dragons did manage to get promotion over the line. Prutton told Football League World: “Yeah, I think you’ve got a very experienced player in there. Whether their recruitment policy of bringing in slightly older players works in the division above, we shall see. But if it gets them out of League One, that’s the first port of call. They don’t seem to be in a position where they won’t be able to spend or don’t want to spend.

“They will be able to strengthen in areas, but I think Steven, given his experience at the highest level, would be a key member of that, if it is about bringing younger players through that don’t have that much experience at that level.

“From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, he is a good teammate. He is a good member of any squad that he has been a part of, and he is part of a Wrexham side that is really endearing itself to their fans.”

Gaffer praise

Parkinson has left it in no doubt over how highly he rates the former Hibee who is thriving at the back end of his career. He told the BBC after a goal against Huddersfield Town: "It's absolutely priceless for us, it's a key moment in the game. He's done it time and time again. He's really got the fear factor and everybody respects what he's done in the game.

"It's not just about the moments, it's about his contribution before the game, at half-time, on the training pitch during the week. It was a great moment for him and for us. The striker options are so important for us," he added. Each game, we sit down and decide what we feel the right team and the bench is for every game. Hopefully we can get it right more often than we don't from now until the end of the season."