West Ham announce the signing of Niclas Füllkrug for £23m
As reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, West Ham United are willing to sign striker Niclas Füllkrug for a fee of £23m (€27m).
In an important event that occurred on Saturday morning, Borussia Dortmund issued a statement Confirming Füllkrug's imminent departure:
“Niclas Füllkrug has left the Bad Ragaz training camp… Borussia Dortmund have loaned the striker out so he can negotiate with another club.”
Therefore, it is safe to assume that this deal will be announced very soon.
Who is Niclas Füllkrug?
Niclas Füllkrug is a 31-year-old centre forward who, at 188 cm tall, is a classic reference striker, but his rise to the top has been unusual.
After failing to break into Werder Bremen's first team, he had spells with lower-division clubs Greuther Fürth, Nürnberg and Hannover before rejoining die Grün-Weißen in 2019, but it wasn't until the 2021/22 season that his career really took off.
That year, Füllkrug scored 19 goals in 33 appearances in the Second Bundesliga as Werderaner were promoted back to the top flight, before scoring 16 Bundesliga goals during the following campaign, making him the division's top scorer, ending the campaign sharing the Kicker-Torjägerkanone with Christopher Nkunku, who earned a £52 million move to Chelsea as a result.
Well, Füllkrug has moved on too, joining Borussia Dortmund for around £12.5m last summer, scoring 15 goals in all competitions for the Schwarzgelben, including goals during home wins over NewcastleAtletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain on the way to the Champions League Final at Wembley.
He is even more prolific at international level, making his senior debut against Oman in a pre-World Cup warm-up match in Muscat, doing so at the age of 29 years and 280 days, the second-oldest German to debut for the Mannschaft, setting up the chances as the only scorer in a 1–0 win that evening.
In total, Füllkrug had scored 13 goals in just 21 international appearances to date, including strikes against Spain and Costa Rica at the aforementioned World Cup, before also scoring twice at this summer's European Championships, doing so during group stage games against Scotland and Switzerland.
Julian Nagelsmann introduced Füllkrug as a substitute in all five of Germany's games, replacing Kai Havertz every time, but he will surely be a more regular player if he starts in east London.
West Ham's summer spending spree continues
It's already been a busy summer at West Ham United as the Julen Lopetegui era begins.
Led by manager Tim Steidten, who is spearheading the Irons' recruitment, the club have already signed Max Kilman from Wolves for £40m, Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras for £25.5m and, slightly less excitingly, back-up goalkeeper Wes Foderingham on a free from Sheffield United.
Meanwhile, Crysencio Summerville is set to arrive from Leeds United. in a deal reportedly worth £25m.
With Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paquetá and Mohammed Kudus already in the squad, Guilherme already signed and Summerville seemingly on the way, this new-look West Ham team promises to be very exciting when they begin their campaign at home against Aston Villa on August 17th.
