CHRISTOPHE BERRA and Steven Fletcher were Barclays Premier League team-mates last season and the Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back still hopes the pair may be reunited in the English top flight this time around.
The Scotland defender is thought to be a transfer target for top-flight sides Stoke City and Southampton, as well as Championship club Leicester City, after informing Stale Solbakken, his new manager at the relegated Midlands outfit, that he sees his future elsewhere. His situation is mirrored by that of Fletcher, who submitted a transfer request at Molineux after a £12m bid for his services was rejected by Martin O'Neill's Sunderland.
"I'm 27 now, coming into my peak years for a defender, and I want to be playing every week," said Berra, as he promoted Scotland's friendly with Australia at Easter Road on Wednesday. "Wolves have been very good to me but I see my future lying elsewhere, so I doubt I would be extending my contract. Sometimes you need a change of scenery, a new lease of life, and I've reached that stage.
"I might still be a Wolves player come the end of the transfer window and, if I am, I'll still give my all for the club. But I feel that my future lies elsewhere and the Premiership is where I want to be.
"Everyone knows Fletch is a top player and clubs are offering a lot of money for him. He deserves to be in the Premier League. His scoring record has been really good, especially in teams who have struggled. He has earned the right to play in that league."
Berra has been a consistent performer alongside Gary Caldwell for Scotland, but faces a renewed onslaught for his first-team position from Grant Hanley, the Blackburn Rovers youngster, and Andy Webster, his one-time Hearts team-mate, ahead of the September qualifiers against Serbia and Macedonia.
Berra will be a participant at Easter Road on Wednesday night, but he is sure to be an interested spectator in events taking place there on Sunday, when his former team play the first Edinburgh derby of the season.
The 27-year-old defender believes his former youth team coach, John McGlynn, deserved his big chance to manage the Tynecastle outfit after several years with Raith Rovers. "I worked under him for a few years – he brought me into the youth team and then the reserves," Berra said. "He taught me a lot, he gave me a good grounding, so looking back now I owe him a lot and give him credit."
* Tickets for Scotland v Australia are available on 0844 248 5155, at the Hibernian FC ticket office and via www.ticketmaster.co.uk
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