Sunderland rejected an offer for Steven Fletcher from Celtic, according to BBC Sport.

The report claims that the reigning Scottish champions made the approach for the Scottish international on deadline day, trying to secure his services on a loan deal. However, the Black Cats were quick to reject the proposal in the final hours of the window.

Fletcher was open to move after plenty of summer speculation

Fletcher has been surrounded by more than his fair share of transfer speculation during the summer window, with Swansea City heavily linked, only for the club to deny the rumours shortly after they emerged.

The Northern Echo also reported that Fletcher was nearing an exit, saying that Celtic had launched a bid that matched Sunderland's valuation of the player, but the Scottish Premiership outfit could not match his high wage demands, which meant the move failed to materialise.

However, this speculation all arose before Connor Wickham moved on, joining Crystal Palace for a fee of £8 million. Wickham was believed to be higher up the pecking order than Fletcher, and his teammate Danny Graham, who was also rumoured to leave Wearside, but the former-Sheffield Wednesday man's departure meant both would remain at the Stadium of Light - even with Fabio Borini's arrival late in the window.

Still, BBC Sport claim that Fletcher was keen to make the switch to Celtic, perhaps recognising that his first team opportunities will be limited once more following the signing of Borini.

Scottish international offers a different dimension going forward

As well as the offer coming too late in the window for Sunderland to find and recruit a suitable replacement, one reason why manager Dick Advocaat is likely to have rejected Celtic's approach is because Fletcher offers a different dimension to his team on the attack.

Jermain Defoe and Borini are both lively forwards who can score goals, but neither possess great strength or stature, whereas Fletcher does.

Following the Black Cats' opening day defeat to Leicester City, Advocaat praised the 28-year-old's impact off the bench, which improved the attack and led to the striker finding the back of the net.

He may only be limited to substitute appearances this season, but Fletcher is deemed as an important player for Sunderland by his manager, with him offering a different outlet and another option going forward.