On Teesside, Ashley Fletcher arrived to a wave of excitement, but he would depart rarely having extracted more than sighs of dissatisfaction.
Despite signing the talented Ashley Fletcher in 2017, Middlesbrough’s chances of winning promotion to the Premier League were dashed.
Fletcher joined Boro’s expensive forward line, however he was unable to make an impression and left the team temporarily.
Fletcher’s expensive failure at Middlesbrough was characterised by instability, numerous manager changes, and moments of brilliance.
Ashley Fletcher of West Ham was signed by Middlesbrough in 2017 with the expectation that he will help propel the team back into the Premier League.
In 2016, Ashley Fletcher was a promising young player in English football who had just been granted a move to the Premier League.
A former Manchester United youth prospect, he attracted interest from elite teams, including West Ham United, during his productive loan period at League One team Barnsley.
After the England junior international turned down a new deal at Old Trafford, the Hammers pounced to grab him on a free transfer.
But Fletcher’s stay in East London would only last a season as newly relegated Middlesbrough made an offer that, as then-West Ham manager Slaven Bilic acknowledged, was “too good to turn down.”
Boro manager Garry Monk spent a whooping £6.5 million on the attacker, who is 21 years old.
Fletcher adds to expensive forward line
In the summer of 2017, Middlesbrough made other significant financial additions in addition to Fletcher moving to the Riverside Stadium.
Martin Braithwaite, who Boro paid £9 million for, arrived before Fletcher. However, not before Middlesbrough shattered their record by paying £15 million to get Britt Assombalonga, a striker for Nottingham Forest, to Teesside.
Middlesbrough had no intention of staying in the second division for the long run, and Garry Monk was determined to make that clear to the rest of the Championship.
However, according to Transfermarkt, Fletcher has only managed to find the net once in 16 Championship games before the deadline in January 2018.
It was decided to let the young striker leave the team temporarily since something wasn’t working, as evidenced by the fact that Tony Pulis had already assumed Garry Monk’s place.
Local rivals seek Fletcher’s aid
Leave a Reply