Wolves get tough in Steven Fletcher stand-off

Wolves today stood firm after Steven Fletcher handed in a transfer request.

The striker expressed his wish to leave in writing yesterday afternoon after Wolves rejected Sunderland's latest bid of £12m.

The £7m club record signing was in talks with chief executive Jez Moxey and his agent for over half an hour at Compton yesterday.

Fletcher emerged to tweet:

The Black Cats' latest bid – which is understood to be £10m now and the rest in guaranteed add-ons – is one of numerous ones submitted by Sunderland to the Molineux board over recent weeks.

But Wolves, who confirmed the £3m sale of winger Michael Kightly to Stoke, are refusing to budge unless their valuation – which they refuse to disclose publicly – is met.

Wolves have also fielded enquiries from at least two more clubs – although the list is not understood to include Villa, whose boss Paul Lambert is an admirer. But the increased publicity generated by his transfer request could now 'smoke out' rival bidders for his signature.

Whatever happens, Wolves are ready for some serious poker-playing with Moxey having proved himself an extremely tough bargainer when it comes to selling players.

Wolves responded to Fletcher's request in a statement, saying: "Wolves can confirm Steven Fletcher has handed in an official transfer request.

"The player's frustration stems from the fact that several bids have been rejected for his services, none of which meets the club's valuation.

"No player will leave Wolves unless the club's valuation is met."

The club don't need the money and Fletcher's departure would leave a huge gap to fill but there doesn't appear to be any suitable replacement on the horizon.

And I understand a deal involving Sunderland and Fletcher would not include former Ipswich striker Connor Wickham, as has been suggested in some quarters.

As Wolves remained steadfast in their desire to keep Fletcher, all eyes switched to Molineux today to see if manager Stale Solbakken included the Scottish striker and in-demand Matt Jarvis and wantaway defender Christophe Berra on the official team photo being taken this afternoon.

By Tim Nash

See also:

• Jez Moxey: Michael?Kightly refused new Wolves deal

• Wolves in talks with Sunderland over Steven Fletcher

• David Davis:?Loan deals made me mature