We’ve already had one go at signing West Ham United striker Ashley Fletcher, and it’s reported that we’ll be after him again in January.

Garry Monk first attempted to sign Fletcher in the summer when the forward decided not to sign a new contract with Manchester United (and who can blame him) but at the time he thought his best option was to stay in the Premier League with a move to West Ham. Yet things haven’t quite worked out for him at the ‘London Stadium’,

Even though the Hammers have endured a difficult season so far, Fletcher has only made 6 bit-part appearances in the league, amounting to 151 minutes in total. And he might fall even further down the pecking order once Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll come back from injury, though in Carroll’s case it might not be that long before he breaks down yet again.

Now the ‘ClubCall ‘ website have reported that Leeds are hoping to take Fletcher on loan for the second half of the season, and will make his present club an offer as soon as the transfer window opens in January. The striker celebrated his 21st birthday last month, so he could well decide that he has reached the stage of his career when he needs regular first team football in order to progress.

Garry Monk said in August that he wanted another striker to give himself more options in that area of the squad, but it’s not certain that Fletcher would be a regular starter at Leeds, given Monk’s current preference for playing with only one striker. Chris Wood seems to have secured that role for the time being, while I think that Antonsson is worth more game time than he’s had, and even Doukarra is starting to look half-decent.

But Fletcher had an impressive loan spell at Barnsley last season, and we probably do need a few more options up front to cover for any injuries and suspensions we get after January. So if there is any truth in the story that Monk is going to try to sign Fletcher again, let’s hope he gets his man this time.

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