West Ham are interested in making a move for Manchester United youngster Ashley Fletcher and are believed to be close to tying him down to a four-year contract at the club..
Fletcher has already been targeted by a number of clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United, but interest from the Hammers may well convince the young striker to make a move to London.
Fletcher joined Manchester United at the age of 13 and has represented the club at various underage levels. Last season Fletcher completed a loan move to Barnsley, scoring nine goals in 27 appearances during his time there, and helping The Tykes secure promotion with a goal in the Play-Off final against Millwall.
Fletcher also is an England under-20 international and has scored two goals in two appearance for the three lions.
Wolves are hopeful of pinching the 20-year-old striker from under West Ham’s noses with the offer of regular first-team football, albeit a tier below the Premier League, a promise West Ham can’t make.
Fletcher rejected a new contract with Manchester United earlier this summer and is a free agent because he didn’t believe in Jose Mourinho’s ability to bring through academy prospects at the club. Even if he did, Fletcher is behind the likes of Marcus Rashford and James Wilson in the pecking order.
Where the Hammers have an edge is they have proven over the last 12 months under Slaven Bilic that they do put a lot of faith into their young talent. Reece Oxford, Reece Burke, Josh Cullen, Martin Samuelsen and Djair Parfitt-Williams all made appearances for West Ham last term after impressing at youth level and are all expected to play bigger roles this forthcoming season.
Other talented prospects have noticed this and want to come to West Ham because of the pathways in place. Domingos Quina left Chelsea to sign pre terms with West Ham this summer. Bilic managed to steal Toni Martinez, a very productive academy striker, from Valencia for £2.4m. Ashley Fletcher would be the next to make the switch to East London.
Despite West Ham’s Premier League status, the Hammers face tough competition from the Championship as Fletcher may well feel he will struggle to get first-team football at West Ham immediately. Still a raw talent, Fletcher will need time to adjust to the Premier League but there is no doubt that there are big things in his future.
