The young West Ham striker, Ashley Fletcher, has had a good, but busy 2016. After finding first-team opportunities hard to come by with Manchester United, they sent him out on loan to Barnsley and this was a key move for both him and Barnsley as he played a key role in their push towards the playoffs. He also scored the first goal in the play-off final against Millwall, helping Barnsley return to the Championship.
However, with a new man taking charge at Manchester United and looking to bring players in, Fletcher was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.
But his great loan spell at Barnsley had made other clubs sit up and take notice, especially West Ham. However, whilst the pacy young West Ham striker has looked impressive, he hasn’t quite made the step up and the thought is that a loan move will help him develop.
One man interested in taking him on loan is Leeds boss Garry Monk. Leeds have been showing a good form of late and are within touching distance of the playoff spots. They will be hoping to put a run together and firmly put themselves in a good place to gain promotion back to the Premier League.
The one thing holding them back at the moment is their goalscoring ability. So far this season they have just 14 goals in 14 games and this categorically has to improve if Leeds are to see Premier League football next season.
Monk’s two main forwards so far this season have been Chris Woods and Marcus Antonsson. Woods is the Leeds top scorer with 6 goals in 11 appearances, repaying the faith that his manager has shown in him. However, Antonsson hasn’t played so well, scoring only 1 goal.
Chris Woods would be the perfect foil for the young West Ham striker Fletcher. He is a big strong target man, capable of holding the ball up and playing with his back to goal. Whereas Fletcher looks to stretch a defence and use his pace to trouble defenders which on paper would work superbly with the style of Woods.
Fletcher wouldn’t represent much of a gamble for the ex-Swansea boss either. He is proven in the lower leagues and as mentioned before, was a big factor in helping Barnsley to the Championship.
The young striker is also comfortable in Yorkshire, and it is thought that Leeds would be a club high up his wish list for a loan move. He was born in Yorkshire and would relish the chance to be around family and friends again.
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