Huddersfield look to make first Premier League signing from Hammers

Young West Ham striker Ashley Fletcher is being linked to Premier League newbies Huddersfield Town according to the Daily Mirror.

The Mirror reports that manager David Wagner has inquired about taking the 21-year-old striker on loan next season.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Fletcher made 21 appearances for West Ham last season most of those coming off the bench. He scored his only goal of the season in an EFL cup match in a 4-1 loss to his former club Manchester United.

For some reason he found himself playing behind Jonathan Calleri for much of the second half of the season. Despite calls from fans for Slaven Bilic to play the the young Englishman, Calleri took the starting role in the absence of Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho, and Michail Antonio.

Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images

If West Ham are successful in recruiting Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho or Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi, loaning Fletcher is a smart move. Fletcher needs playing time and Huddersfield look likely to give him plenty of that. If West Ham cannot get one of their main striker targets then Fletcher may find himself the first choice striker before long.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

There’s no need to get this deal done now but it would behoove the Davids to get a deal done for Iheanacho or Batshuayi sooner rather than later. If Hudderfield move on from Fletcher in favor of someone else we may have lost a golden opportunity to get valuable Premier League experience for Fletcher.