Ashley Fletcher is set to leave West Ham.
Fletcher’s departure will come as a surprise just 12 months after he signed for the club, but he is being squeezed out at the Hammers, in part due to outstanding prospect Toni Martinez.
While West Ham have signed forwards Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic to compete with Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho, Martinez has been carving out a place for himself as the club’s most exciting prospect – overtaking Fletcher.
West Ham United’s Ashley Fletcher in action
After signing from Valencia, he scored at a prolific rate for West Ham’s under-23 team last season before impressing on loan at Oxford United.
He scored to dump Newcastle out of the FA Cup, and is hoping to earn a spot in West Ham’s squad for the season ahead.
Martinez is currently with the first team in Germany on their pre-season training camp, where he is hoping to catch Slaven Bilic’s eye.
With the strength in depth West Ham suddenly have available up front, the £7 million offer from Middlesbrough for Fletcher is a no brainer.
If they did not have Martinez in reserve then Bilic may be more tempted to hold onto Fletcher, but there may not be enough room for one, let alone two next season, and taking the money is a smart decision.
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