CELTIC are leading the race to sign Sunderland and Scotland striker Steven Fletcher on a free transfer.
The 29-year-old was sent out on loan to Marseille for the second half of last season and his contract with the Black Cats expires next month.
The Sunderland Echo reports that Fletcher has been deemed surplus to requirements now that Sam Allardyce's side have secured their Premier League status.
Read more: Celtic and Rangers tracking out of contract Sunderland striker Danny Graham
Celtic are his main suitors and the former Hibernian forward is keen on a move to Parkhead, according to the newspaper.
Fletcher, who has scored eight goals for Scotland in 24 caps, has frequently been linked with the Hoops but this time the price of a deal will be lower.
A permanent move to Marseille, where he scored twice in 12 Ligue 1 games after joining in January, is possible and there was also interest from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua six months ago.
But Celtic are considered to be his main suitors and the most likely destination for the former Wolves and Burnley man.
Read more: Celtic defender Dedrick Boyata out of Euros and facing Champions League fitness race
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article