Steven Kenneth Fletcher (born 26 March 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Fletcher began his club career with Hibernian, playing in 156 Scottish Premier League games and scoring 43 goals. English club Burnley paid a club record transfer fee of £3 million to sign Fletcher in June 2009. He was their top goalscorer in the 2009–10 season with eight league goals, but the club were relegated from the Premier League.
Fletcher was transferred soon afterwards to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a club record fee of £6.5 million. He scored 24 goals in 68 appearances for Wolves, but the club were relegated from the Premier League in 2012. Fletcher was then transferred to Premier League side Sunderland for £12 million. He played 108 matches and scored 23 goals for them, also spending half a season on loan at French club Marseille in 2016. He then joined EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. Fletcher spent four seasons at Hillsborough scoring 38 goals. He subsequently played two seasons with Stoke City, and one season with Dundee United. In 2023 he joined League Two side Wrexham, scoring eight goals in 33 games as the team finished in second place with promotion to League One on their first attempt. In 2024 he again scored eight goals for Wrexham as the team finished in second place with promotion to the Championship.
Fletcher played for the Scotland under-19 team that finished runners up to Spain in the 2006 under-19 European Championship. He has since represented Scotland at full international level, and in 2015 became the first player since 1969 to score a hat-trick for Scotland.
Fletcher, who was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, spent much of his early years living on British Army bases in England and Germany where his Liverpudlian soldier father, Kenny Fletcher was based. His father died from cancer aged 37 when Fletcher was aged only 10, prompting his Scottish mother, Mary, to relocate him and his younger sister Bree to Hamilton, South Lanarkshire to be closer to her family. Hibernian youth coach John Park, also from Hamilton, spotted his footballing talent and the youngster joined the Leith club's youth network aged 13. He was selected for the Lanarkshire Schools XI in 2002 while a pupil at Earnock High School.
Fletcher made his debut for Hibs on 10 April 2004, replacing Garry O'Connor for the final eight minutes in a 3–0 Scottish Premier League win over Kilmarnock at Easter Road. He totalled five appearances that season, making his first start on 15 May in the final fixture, a 4–1 loss at Livingston.
He became a first team regular in the 2004–05 season, playing 26 times and scoring five goals. His first goal came on 16 October, set up by O'Connor to conclude a 2–0 home win over Dundee United. On 19 March, as a 61st-minute substitute for Scott Brown, he scored twice in a 4–1 win at Dunfermline Athletic, also assisting one of Derek Riordan's brace.
In the 2005–06 season, Fletcher scored 10 goals in just 1,966 minutes on the pitch, which approximated to a goal every other game. He took on a more prominent role in the 2006–07 season after Hibs had sold star strikers O'Connor and Derek Riordan. Fletcher scored in Hibernian's 5–0 Intertoto Cup win over Dinaburg and played regularly during the league season. The highlight of the season for Fletcher and Hibs was when he scored two goals in the 5–1 win over Kilmarnock in the 2007 League Cup Final.
Fletcher became Hibs' main striker during the 2007–08 season. He scored his first professional hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Gretna and won the Scottish Football Writers' Young Player of the Year Award. Fletcher was touted for a move to Real Madrid due to Madrid's scouts watching him. In November 2008 it was reported that Manchester City was interested in signing Fletcher and the Daily Record reported on 1 January 2009 that Middlesbrough were "preparing" a £2.5 million offer. Towards the end of the January transfer window, Hibs rejected an approach from Celtic. Fletcher then publicly pleaded for Hibs to agree a deal with Celtic, arguing "for the development of my career it is time to move to a bigger club", but Hibs refused to sell him. Fletcher finished the season by being voted the Scottish Football Writers Young Player of the Season again.
On 26 June 2009, Burnley offered £2.75 million for Fletcher. A few days later, Hibs accepted an offer of £3 million plus incentives based on appearances for Burnley. Fletcher completed the move when he agreed a four-year contract with the Lancashire club, who paid a club record transfer fee to obtain his services. After the move was completed, former Hibs striker Keith Wright questioned whether Fletcher was ready to play in the Premier League. His first competitive goals for Burnley came when he scored a brace in a 2–1 League Cup win at Hartlepool United on 25 August. He scored his first goal in the Premier League on 3 October, against Birmingham City. Fletcher was Burnley's top goalscorer during the 2009–10 season, but the club were relegated from the Premier League. He was named Burnley Players' Player of the year for the season.
After Burnley were relegated to the Championship, Fletcher signed a four-year contract, with the option of a fifth year, with Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 June 2010. He was transferred for around £6.5 million, which matched the Wolves club record. Fletcher scored on his debut for Wolves, winning 2–1 against Stoke City on the opening day of the season at Molineux. He scored five goals in five league games for the club near the end of the season, including two against West Bromwich Albion at Molineux in the Black Country derby, earning his side a 3–1 win over their local rivals and getting them out of the bottom three.
Fletcher began the 2011–12 Premier League with a headed goal in the opening day victory against Blackburn. Despite Fletcher scoring 12 goals during the league season, Wolves were relegated from the Premier League. Fletcher submitted a transfer request on 8 August 2012, after media reports linked Sunderland with the player.
On 22 August 2012, Wolves accepted an offer from Sunderland of £12 million. Fletcher signed a four-year contract with Sunderland. He made his first appearance for Sunderland in a 2–0 win against Football League Two club Morecambe in the Football League Cup. Fletcher then scored his first two goals in his Premier League debut for Sunderland, a 2–2 draw at Swansea City. He also scored once in each of his next three league matches, against Liverpool, West Ham United and Wigan Athletic. He won the Premier League Player of the Month award for September. After a run of games without a win, an injury sustained playing for Scotland in March 2013 ruled Fletcher out for the rest of the 2012–13 season.
Fletcher was handed the number 9 shirt for the 2013–14 season, and returned to the bench for a 4–2 League Cup win against Milton Keynes Dons. Upon his Premier League return after a sustained period of time out injured, he came off the bench to score in the 3–1 defeat against Crystal Palace on 31 August. On 27 September, Fletcher was ruled out for "four to six" weeks, with a shoulder injury; the result of a heavy fall during the previous week's match against West Brom. Fletcher scored his second goal of the season on 27 October 2013, netting the first in a 2–1 win against local rivals Newcastle United. It was also Sunderland's first win of the season. On 28 December 2013, Fletcher scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Cardiff City. He did not score again in the 2013–14 season, during which Sunderland reached the League Cup final and produced a late run of form to avoid relegation.
On 4 October 2014, Fletcher netted twice and assisted Connor Wickham in a 3–1 win against Stoke City. Fletcher was at the double again almost a month later, when he netted twice against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. His fifth goal of the season came on the last day of the season, on 24 May 2015, where he scored a header to open the scoring in a 1–3 defeat away to Chelsea.