According to reports in The Sun on Monday, Leeds United are ready to battle a number of their Championship rivals in the race to sign West Ham United striker Ashley Fletcher on loan.
The Sun says that the Irons are willing to send the 21-year-old out on a temporary basis after they completed a £16m deal to bring Javier Hernandez to the club, with the former Manchester United struggling to make a big impression in his first season at the London Stadium.
The Sun says that Leeds have asked to take the centre-forward on loan to provide him with regular playing time in the upcoming campaign, but the Yorkshire outfit face competition from Middlesbrough, Reading and Wolverhampton Wanderers for his signature.
Fletcher scored in a pre-season friendly with Fulham earlier this month, but he now looks set to drop down a division in order to continue his development.
Here are three reasons Leeds must win the race to sign Fletcher on loan…
Chris Wood competition
There is no doubt that Chris Wood will be the man that starts the season up top for Leeds United if they continue with a formation that includes just the one striker, with the New Zealand international plundering 27 Championship goals in 44 league appearances last season.
However, he had a real lack of competition during the campaign and Thomas Christiansen may well be looking for some more options this summer even though he currently has the likes of Marcus Antonsson and Souleymane Doukara on the books.
The Yorkshire outfit did sign Caleb Ekuban from Albanian side Partizani Tirana earlier this month but despite the fact that he was prolific last season, the Championship will be a different prospect altogether and he could take time to adapt.
That could mean that the Whites look for a player with a bit more experience in English football in the meantime, and having played in League One and the Premier League Fletcher could be the right man for the job.
Spell with Barnsley
One of the reasons Fletcher earned his move to West Ham United from Manchester United last summer was because of his form during a loan spell with Barnsley in the second-half of the 2015/16 campaign.
The 21-year-old scored nine goals in 27 appearances in all competitions for the Tykes as they won promotion to the Championship by beating Millwall 3-1 in the League One play-off final, with the striker netting the opening goal for his team at Wembley.
He impressed with his all-round play and he would hope to have similar impact for Leeds in the Championship if he moved to Elland Road on loan before the start of the new season.
Point to prove
Following a disappointing first season at the London Stadium in which he struggled to break into the side and scored just one goal in 20 appearances in all competitions, Fletcher will certainly want to prove to Slaven Bilic that he still has a West Ham future if he leaves the club on loan this summer.
The 21-year-old will know that he needs to perform and show that the can find the net on a regular basis if he does drop down to the Championship, and that determination to improve and develop would only help Leeds next season as they look to secure a return to the Premier League.
Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.
