TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
The New York Red Bulls have signed striker Ashley Fletcher on loan from English Premier League side Watford for six months with an option to buy, the club announced Monday.
Fletcher becomes their fourth on-loan player alongside defenders Lucas Monzón (from Danubio) and Tom Edwards (from Stoke City), plus midfielder Caden Clark (from RB Leipzig).
“We are happy to add Ashley to our team,” sporting director Denis Hamlett said in a release. “His experience in both the English Premier League and English Championship will prove to be valuable among our young group of players.”
The 26-year-old came through Manchester United’s youth academy and has amassed 42 goals and 20 assists in 177 matches since turning pro at age 20.
Fletcher joined Watford last summer after being at Middlesborough. His other stops in England were Sunderland, West Ham United and Barnsley.
“It is good to see Ashley join our squad this season,” head coach Gerhard Struber said in a release. “His general movement off the ball suggests he has a good level of game understanding, which is shown by recognizing and exploiting space with precise timing. He will hopefully prove to be a good piece in the attacking zone.”
Fletcher, a former England youth international, joins strikers Patryk Klimala and Tom Barlow at RBNY and helps replace the departure of Fabio, who’s now at Brazilian Serie A side Atletico Mineiro.
