ASHLEY FLETCHER has told Middlesbrough supporters they are right to be excited about the forthcoming Championship season.

Fletcher became Boro’s sixth permanent signing of the summer when he signed a four-year deal to complete a £6.5m move from West Ham United yesterday.

The 21-year-old could be involved in this afternoon’s Riverside friendly against German Bundesliga side Augsburg, and joins Martin Braithwaite and Britt Assombalonga on the list of high-profile attacking additions.

Having come through the academy system at Old Trafford, he turned down the offer of a permanent contract with Manchester United to join West Ham last summer, but found his first-team opportunities at the London Stadium extremely limited.

He jumped at the chance to move to Middlesbrough even though it meant dropping down to the Championship, and is extremely optimistic about his new club’s prospects despite their relegation last season.

“I’m delighted to be here at Middlesbrough,” he said. “It’s a great challenge for me to come and really try to cement my name in football. The manager has given me a massive opportunity to come and challenge, and help the team get back to where they belong, which is the Premier League.

“I can’t wait to start. I just think that the players we have here – the signings that have been made and the squad that is still here – it’s so exciting. This season, I think the fans should be excited about the football that is going to be played, with the manager as well. It’s going to be a really exciting season for me, and I think for Middlesbrough Football Club.”

Fletcher’s hopes of forcing his way into West Ham’s first team were effectively ended by Slaven Bilic’s recent £16m purchase of Javier Hernandez.

Bilic admitted he could not offer a realistic prospect of regular first-team football, forcing the forward to look elsewhere in an attempt to kick-start his career.

“It’s the ambition to play more regularly (that led to the move),” said Fletcher. “West Ham have done a lot for me in the small time I was there. They gave me a chance to play in the Premier League, whether it was for 20 minutes or half-an-hour.

“I can’t say that my time there wasn’t successful because it was because I learned a lot. But I want to be playing every week. That’s the goal of a footballer – if you’re playing every week and challenging, and seeing that the ambition of the club is to get back to the Premier League, then it was a no-brainer really.

“The manager at West Ham, Slaven, was a good guy. I spoke with him on Wednesday night, and he said, ‘Listen, I don’t want you to go’. But for me, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t really turn down.

“I’ve known that the manager here has wanted me for quite a long time, from his time at other clubs. For me, to be wanted like that by a manager who is going to show faith in me and hopefully play me in the majority of the games was massive. It was probably the key for me to come here to play.”

Fletcher’s on-field attributes should make him a valuable asset this season, but he feels his off-field characteristics will be equally important as he seeks to make a significant contribution to Boro’s promotion push.

“I’m a hard worker, and I’m honest,” he said. “I’ll give 100 per cent to the team, and I’ve got other attributes as well as my football, off the pitch as well. Being good at football obviously helps, but being the right kind of person as well (is important), someone who is driven and who wants to get to the top and has a point to prove, and that’s me.

“I want to keep pushing myself, and keep pushing the boundaries to get to where I want to be, which is playing regularly in the Premier League. I believe that next season, hopefully we’ll get promoted with Middlesbrough and see what happens.”

Boro will field a full-strength team in this afternoon’s game, although Ben Gibson is set to miss out as he continues his recovery from the broken nose he sustained in last weekend’s friendly defeat at Rochdale.