Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill has praised in-form striker Steven Fletcher and has stated that the forward is justifying his £12 million price tag.

The Scottish attacker moved from Wolves in the summer, and has already hit the back of the net four times in three games, including the opener against West Ham on Saturday.

The Northern Irish boss is pleased with his new signing and feels that Fletcher is showing his worth.

“I think he’s a real quality centre forward and I think he’ll prove real value for money," The Telegraph quote the Bantams' coach a saying.

"What I think he has done is to help us immensely, not just in terms of the goals, which is great – so far he’s the only one to score – but there’s the extra part of his game, which we probably didn’t really have last season," he concluded.

Fletcher is joint second in the Premier League goalscoring charts after Robin van Persie, who has netted five times for Manchester United.

By Gareth McKnight