Fletcher joins Boro
It was confirmed yesterday by Gary Monk’s Middlesbrough that they have completed the transfer of our young striker Ashley Fletcher. The former Manchester United man has joined The Championship for a fee of around £6 million, after agreeing personal terms at The Riverside yesterday. Fletcher made 21 appearances in all competitions under Slaven Bilic last season, scoring only once in The League Cup defeat away at Old Trafford. The 21-year-old also played a key part for The U23’s as they gained promotion to The PL2 Division One via a Play-Off victory over Newcastle United, and gained a goal and an assist in his final Hammers appearance against Fulham in Austria. The departure is set to pave the way for David Gold and David Sullivan to secure the likes of Raul Jimenez and Badou Ndiaye as replacements for the young star. However, the deal will come as a surprise to many in the world of Football as the youngster showed promise last season, but Bilic has clearly decided that his talents would be better suited to a lower League. The Yorkshireman now joins fellow former Hammer Darren Randolph in The North-East, who joined the club last week in response to the summer arrival of Joe Hart to The London Stadium.
U23’s demolish tough opposition in Slovakia
Our bright young U23 side overcame Slovak Super League side FC Vion Zlate Moravce 1-5 earlier this week in the final friendly of their tour of the country. Terry Westley’s men were boosted by the return of the likes of Nathan Trott, Martin Samuelson, and Dan Kemp, but were still without Antonio Martinez, Moses Makasi and Reece Burke who are with the first-team squad in Germany. Jahmal Hector-Ingram was the star of the show with an outstanding hat-trick, with Grady Diangana and Dan Kemp grabbing the other two goals. The youngsters will now travel back to England, facing Billericay Town in their final friendly before The PL2 Division One opening fixture against Everton at The Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Chicharito completes first session as a Hammer
New-signing Javier Hernandez has joined up with his teammates in Germany, undergoing his first training session as a Hammer yesterday. The former Bayer Leverkusen man completed his £16 million move from The Bundesliga earlier this week but was not fit enough for either of The Betway Cup legs. However, “The Little Pea” is expected to be ready to face Altona 93 in our final friendly of the tour of Germany at The Adolf-Jager-Kampfbahn Stadium. So, how will “Chicharito” fare in his first Hammers run-out?
Adrian issues encouraging statement
Our Spanish keeper Adrian San-Miguel has vowed to always do his best for the team, after a stunning performance in The Betway Cup first-leg against Werder Bremen on Friday. The former Real Betis man is playing for his place after the arrival of Joe Hart from Manchester City this summer but produced a string of superb saves to deny the Bundesliga side from winning by a bigger margin. Adrian had this to say to WHUFC.com after the display: “I will always try to help my teammates with saves when I play and to keep the game open. With my performance, I could do nothing more”. The shot-stopper quickly became a cult hero after his arrival from La Liga in 2013, but played second-fiddle to Irish international Darren Randolph last season. So, will it be the passionate Spaniard or England’s No1 in-goal for Slaven Bilic when we face The Red Devils on the opening day of the 2017/2018 Premier League season in exactly two weeks-time?