A 16-minute appearance at Brighton was the start of a staggering couple of weeks for Fletcher.
Scotland boss Steve Clarke must have noted something as he asked Fletcher, son of former international midfielder Darren and twin brother of Jack, who has elected to play his youth football for England at present, if he would come to train for a few days in his pre-World Cup camp.
That led to Fletcher being given an international debut against Bolivia. Then, after Billy Gilmour was ruled out of the tournament with an injury sustained against the South Americans, 19-year-old Fletcher was parachuted into Clarke’s 26-man World Cup squad.
Although he did not make an appearance, the experience is regarded as invaluable, both in terms of giving Fletcher a taste of something to aim for during the next chapter in his career, and also showing him the standards required to reach the top.
Not that standards are an issue. He has learned plenty from his dad. Fletcher is mature, selfless and aware. They are attributes beyond pure ability that will serve him well.
If Lacey can create little moments of magic, the root of Fletcher’s ability is to do the simple things effectively. He reads the game well and his passes are clean. In addition, he is a leader.
Jacob Devaney was Manchester United’s Premier League 2 skipper last season until he went on loan to Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. He is also highly regarded at Old Trafford and has done well in pre-season.
But in the ‘second-half team’ made up of academy players, so far this pre-season, Fletcher has been given the armband.
He was entitled to a three-week post-World Cup break. He returned to training after two.
Like Lacey, expect to see quite a bit of him around the senior set-up in the weeks that lie ahead.
