Everton’s Williams has shone on loan for Barnsley, as Middlesbrough’s Fletcher did two seasons ago.
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom has confirmed his side have made an offer to sign Everton loanee Joe Williams on a permanent basis, and said he would be interested in bringing Ashley Fletcher back to Oakwell should the Middlesbrough striker become available.
Williams has impressed since joining Barnsley on loan in the summer, and is due to remain in South Yorkshire for the rest of the season.
But the Tykes are keen to tie the Everton talent to a permanent deal before then, having seen a number of loan stars slip through their grasp in recent campaigns.
Asked about reports of a £1 million bid for Williams, Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Sheffield: “We did that, that’s come out. How much fact in the reports that have come out… there’s a little bit to it that’s true. I don’t know where it’s come from, whether it’s been Everton’s end, whether it’s been agents.
“Yeah, there was a bid but that’s it. [It was] rejected. I don’t know [if Barnsley will make another offer].”
Barnsley are down to just two senior strikers after Chelsea’s decision to recall Ike Ugbo this week, and Heckingottom confirmed his intention to strengthen the Tykes’ front line this month.
“Ideally we want a couple [of forwards] coming in, yeah,” he said. Asked if Fletcher is one he would be interested in, the 40-year-old replied: “Yeah… wait and see. He’s their player so we can’t do anything. We could throw our hat in for every single player at every club, but it’s up to the parent club what they do with them.”
Fletcher is one of five senior strikers at Middlesbrough, for whom he has appeared just three league starts since his £6.5 million summer move.
Asked if Barnsley could throw their hat in for Fletcher, Heckingbottom, who spoke to the 22-year-old ahead of his move to Middlesbrough, added: “Yeah, definitely. But if I was speaking to him again now I would be telling him to get his head down and make it work there. If a footballer ever takes an easy way out then they’re not for me.
“We know what he is, what he’s about. He’s one of a number of young players at lots of clubs [for whom] the hardest step is becoming established in a first team. There’s lots of different routes to doing that. You can do it at your parent club, you can go out on loan, you maybe have to get a move – whatever it is.”
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