HAVING been informed by Sam Allardyce that he would no longer feature in the Sunderland first team, Steven Fletcher was more than happy to go out on loan to Marseille back in February to get game time.

The move certainly had the desired affect; the 26-times capped striker played regularly for the French club in Ligue 1 in the second half of the 2015/16 campaign and retained his place in the Scotland set-up as a result.

When the national team’s Russia 2018 qualifying campaign gets underway with a game against Malta in September, he will once again be the strong favourite to be selected up front in Gordon Strachan’s starting line-up despite the presence of Leigh Griffiths.

The 29-year-old is unsure where he will be plying his trade by that time - he has, for the umpteenth time in his career, been linked with Celtic – but he does feel he will have more to offer his next club as a consequence of his extended foreign sojourn.

As those charged with running the game in this country continue to search for ways to develop more top class players, Fletcher has suggested more of his compatriots should follow his lead in future and play abroad to further their careers.

“It was different, but I enjoyed it,” he said. “The game was more tactical, but I learned a lot from it. It was a good standard. You've seen some of the players who’ve come over to the Premier League, there’s quality there. Obviously PSG ran away with the league, but they are something special.

“I learned a lot as player, did things I’ve never done before as a player. I became a better player because my awareness of where I was on the pitch grew, rather than just being that No. 9 who plays with his back to goal, I got to play different positions.

“I played most of my time in the No. 10 role. I think I only played two or three games up front actually. I enjoyed it because it gave you space to play. It added to my game and now that I’m out of contract it’s good to have another line to put on your CV, all that experience.”

Fletcher added: “We’ve got a young squad with Scotland now, I kind of feel like one of the older ones, one of the experienced guys, so I like to help the young lads when they come in because I've been in their position.

“Whether it's during training or even just when we’re sitting around. It's funny, when I came into the squad I was quite shy and I didn't speak to the senior guys, I was too intimidated. But the young guys now are full of confidence and they’ll speak to you all the time, ask you about what it was like over there.

“If they get the chance to go there, or anywhere in Europe, it’ll help. For me I became a better player. So even at a young age it's worth thinking about the experience you can gain.”

One of the highlights of Fletcher’s time with Marseille came a fortnight ago when he played in the French Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain. It was a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s last game for PSG and the Swede, true to form, scored twice in a 4-2 victory.

“Playing PSG any time is hard enough, but it was Zlatan’s final game and they really stepped it up,” he said. “He’s a great player. People think he just strolls around in the game, but he’s walking into positions for a reason. He knows where he’ll get time and space to play. He's very intelligent. Whoever gets him this summer is getting some player.”

Having played with Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland down south for the last seven years, the former Hibs player’s most likely destination is, despite renewed speculation about interest from Celtic, somewhere in England.

The level of salary Fletcher can command in the Barclays Premier League will have a huge bearing on which club he joins in the summer. It is unlikely the Scottish champions would match what he is currently receiving or that he would accept a substantial pay cut to move to Glasgow. He is, though, is refusing to rule out moving further afield again.

“Maybe a few years ago I would have said ‘Nah, I want to stay in England” when I had a four year contract with Sunderland,” he said. “But now that I have experienced it I would actually be up for it. I would never say no now. A few years ago I would maybe have been intimidated to go to another country, but I enjoyed it and I was at a massive club. It was a privilege to play for Marseille.”