Why Middlesbrough's £6.5m West Ham gamble seriously backfired | OneFootball

Middlesbrough's £6.5m signing of Ashley Fletcher from West Ham never lived up to the potential

Middlesbrough's expensive transfer of Ashley Fletcher from West Ham is a deal that didn't pay off for the club.

After signing for Middlesbrough back in July 2017 for a transfer fee of £6.5 million from Premier League outfit West Ham, Fletcher is certainly one signing that Boro supporters will want to forget, if they haven't already forgotten about.

The powerful striker began his career with Manchester United, and was offered a new contract following a successful loan spell with Barnsley in their 2015/16 promotion winning season, where he found the net seven times. However, Fletcher turned down the extension at Old Trafford and opted to make the move to London in the direction of West Ham in July 2016.

After scoring once in 20 appearances for the Hammers, Fletcher was in need of a change in which he made the move back up north to the Riverside Stadium for a staggering fee of £6.5m.

Boro's decision to pay that amount of money for an out-of-form striker certainly caught fans off guard. Fletcher was brought in the door following Boro's relegation back to the Championship and was a signing of intent in the hope of an immediate return. However, proceedings didn't pan out that way.

Ashley Fletcher struggled with Middlesbrough

Fletcher struggled to break into the starting line-up upon his arrival at the Riverside Stadium due to heavy competition for places, including the highly-rated Britt Assombalonga. Because of game-time coming at a premium, he spent the second half of the 2017/18 season on loan at Sunderland, where he managed two goals in 16 games.

However, minutes took a turn for the better in a Boro shirt over the next few seasons for Fletcher as he enjoyed a decent 2019/20 season where he scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 43 Championship matches. That was as good as it got for Fletcher, though, and ultimately he failed to repay the club's significant investment in him.

Surprisingly, Fletcher was offered a new contract by Boro the following year which kept him at the club for another season under the guidance of Neil Warnock, before eventually departing for Watford for the next destination in his well-travelled career.

Overall, Fletcher's tenure in the colours of Boro was disappointing to say the least. For an exciting striker prospect to score just 28 goals and register 11 assists in 109 appearances for the club means that he has ultimately gone down as a failure of a signing due to his inconsistency and minor lasting impact he had.

Quite why it didn't work for him can be debated.

Boro went big on a number of players in the summer he signed and there was competition for places in Garry Monk's squad. Monk ultimately flopped and Boro and there was a churn of managers on the back of him, with Boro on the slide before something of a hard re-set.

The club were probably not right for Fletcher at the time he made the move and the transfer fee certainly will not have helped. Fletcher, too, has to shoulder some blame for looking well short of a £6m player.

Ashley Fletcher's career post-Middlesbrough hasn't got much better

After bidding farewell to the Boro faithful, Fletcher then transferred to Watford, who had just earned themselves promotion to the top-flight. His impact in the Premier League was decent, but also short-lived, as he scored two goals in six appearances for the Hornets. The striker spent most of his time out on loan whilst contracted to Vicarage Road.

After brief spells with MLS side, New York Red Bulls, as well as Wigan Athletic, Fletcher continued his journey around the EFL with Sheffield Wednesday, where he linked up with his former Watford manager, Xisco Munoz.

However, Fletcher's time at Hillsborough was a disaster. In 28 appearances, he didn't find the back of the net once; borderline unacceptable for a striker of his stature, experience, and ability that was once worth more than £6m.

After leaving Wednesday, Fletcher has somewhat rediscovered his goalscoring form with Blackpool in League One. He contributed to 19 league goals last campaign and looks to have continued in the same fashion early on in the 2025/26 season.

Tangerines fans, as well as fans throughout the EFL, will be hoping that the once-young starlet can rediscover his confidence in front of goal and build some momentum in years to come.

However, as for Middlesbrough, Fletcher's struggles since leaving the Riverside Stadium will serve as a reminder of their big transfer mishap, and will not be wanting to replicate the mistake again.