Ashley Fletcher is the subject of interest from Championship side Ipswich Town, Read West Ham understands.

The youngster, who joined on a free transfer in the summer from Manchester United, has enjoyed playing time for both the first-team and the U23s.

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor were in attendance at the Chigwell Construction Stadium yesterday evening to watch the 20-year-old, who was impressive on the night.

He scored a goal and recorded an assist in the 2-1 victory over West Brom’s U23s, despite being on the bench for the first team on Sunday in the Premier League loss to Everton.

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When asked about who has on his radar, McCarthy singled out ‘Fletcher’ to Read West Ham as someone he was keeping an eye on, perhaps with a view to a January loan move.

Fletcher started the game up front in a 4-4-2, alongside Jonathan Calleri who has struggled to break through the first team setup following his loan move from Argentina. Fellow young forward Toni Martinez did not feature due to an injury problem.

A loan move to the Championship could be the perfect development strategy for Fletcher; a league where other Development Squad talents such as Reece Burke, Stephen Hendrie and Martin Samuelsen currently ply their trade.

McCarthy tried and failed to sign Martin Samuelsen on loan in the summer, with the Norwegian ultimately joining up with Blackburn for the season.