Sheffield Wednesday defender Dominic Iorfa has urged the club to secure a new contract for striker Steven Fletcher.

Despite featuring in just 26 of the Owls' 37 league games this season, Fletcher is Wednesday's top scorer by some distance this season with 13 league goals, eight more than the club's next highest scorer, Jacob Murphy.

Fletcher is however out of contract at Hillsborough at the end of the season, and Iorfa for one believes the club must do all they can to ensure they avoid losing the Scotsman for nothing in a few months time.

Speaking to Yorkshire Live about the prospect of Fletcher signing a new contract with Wednesday, Iorfa said: "It would be a big boost if we were able to keep Fletch. He is a big player for us.

"Obviously, you always want to keep your best players so hopefully he signs."

Discussing the influence that Fletcher has on Wednesday, Iorfa went on to explain: "It is not a surprise to me that he has had a good season. He is a really good striker and one of the best in the league at what he does as well.

"He has been a big player for us and was really good in the first half of the season. When he got injured in January, he was a big miss for us. It was a shame he got injured at the time that he did."

Following a run of just two wins from their last 14 league games - which has largely coincided with Fletcher's absence through injury - Wednesday have dropped from third to 15th in the Championship table, and are now eight points adrift of the play-offs with nine games of the season still to be played at some point.

The Verdict

This just goes to show the importance of securing a new deal for Fletcher for Wednesday.

Not only has the Scotsman been a key player for them on the pitch individually this season, but it seems his presence could also be an important factor with regards to his teammates.

With Iorfa's comments here highlighting the regard in which Fletcher is held by the Owls squad, a failure to retain his services could be seen as a lack of ambition from some members of the squad, which may lead to questions about their own situation at Hillsborough.

Given the quality of Iorfa's own performances for Wednesday this season, that is a can of worms the club are unlikely to want to open.