Sheffield Wednesday hit the jackpot after Sunderland release decision as big career announcement is made | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday signed Steven Fletcher in the summer of 2016 on a free transfer, in what proved to be incredible business

Former Scotland international Steven Fletcher has announced his retirement from professional football aged 38, having made nearly 750 career appearances for the likes of Burnley, Wolves, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City and Wrexham.

Fletcher arrived at EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday in July 2016 on a free transfer from Sunderland after almost 200 Premier League appearances in six-and-a-half years in the English top flight.

It's safe to suggest that it was a much more optimistic time to be a Sheffield Wednesday fan in 2016.

The club had just come off the back of a Championship campaign under Carlos Carvalhal, where they had finished in sixth and secured themselves a place in the play-offs against Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Owls managed to defeat the Seagulls 3-1 on aggregate over the two legs to book themselves a place at Wembley, only to be undone at the final hurdle by Hull City, courtesy of a Mohamed Diame strike from distance.

It was a huge blow for the South Yorkshire club at the time, but things were looking up.

Signing Steven Fletcher for free is one of Sheffield Wednesday's best bits of business in their recent history

Fletcher arrived at Hillsborough in July 2016 following his contract expiring at Sunderland, though he spent the second half of the previous season on loan in the south of France with Marseille, scoring three times and assisting a further four in 18 appearances across all competitions.

Before that, Fletcher had spent the past six and a half years in the Premier League, making 189 appearances, scoring 53 goals and assisting 12 with Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland, the latter of which signed him for £14 million.

In his first season with Wednesday, the Scotsman was a regular in the team, making 38 appearances, scoring on ten occasions and notching a further two assists as Wednesday finished fourth in the Championship, but succumbed to eventual Wembley victors Huddersfield in the play-off semi-finals.

With the first leg ending 0-0 at Huddersfield, Fletcher fired Wednesday ahead in the game at Hillsborough, as it looked like the Owls were heading to Wembley, but an own goal by Tom Lees meant the game headed to penalties, where they eventually lost out.

The 33-time capped Scottish international hit double digits three times across his four seasons with Wednesday, with only the 2017/18 campaign the only time he did not manage that feat, largely due to a knee injury which kept him out for a large portion of the year.

The 2018/19 campaign was more successful for Fletcher, scoring 11 times in 40 Championship appearances, having to compete for the main striker position with the likes of Atdhe Nuhiu, Lucas Joao and Fernando Forestieri.

His final season in Wednesday colours was his most prolific, hitting the back of the net 13 times and notching two assists in just 27 appearances, but persistent knee problems kept him out of action for at least ten weeks.

In total, Fletcher hit the back of the net 38 times in Wednesday colours, grabbing nine assists in 136 appearances for the club across all competitions, and is still remembered fondly to this day.

He'd leave the club at the end of his contract in 2020 and remained in the Championship with Stoke City for the next two seasons.

Steven Fletcher retires after over 500 appearances in English football, with most having come for Sheffield Wednesday

Fletcher initially moved south of the border from his native Scotland in 2009, when he joined Burnley in the Premier League from his boyhood club Hibernian.

The Clarets were the first club of his long journey in England, but it was with Wednesday that he made the most appearances for in the country.

The 33-time capped former Scottish international played in all four tiers of English football, having dropped to League Two to join Wrexham in 2023 before earning promotion with them and starring in League One with the Red Dragons just last season.

Following his release from the Welsh side, Fletcher was linked with a return to Hibernian aged 38, but a move never materialised, and he has now called time on his career.

With over 500 appearances across all competitions in English football, scoring 124 times, Fletcher retires with an esteemed career that many could only dream of and a place in Hillsborough history.