With less than three weeks until the 24/25 season kicks off, West Ham United have been surprisingly busy in the transfer market with Technical Director Tim Steiden travelling across the globe, contacting many players of whom new manager Julen Lopetegui has shown keen interest into, and who he believes can improve his team.
One player that caught the eye of both the Spaniard manager and the German technical director was Aston Villa’s young striker Jhon Duran.
The Colombian seemed the perfect fit for this promising West Ham side and Lopetegui’s project, earning game time in the Premier League last season under Unai Emery at Villa Park.
However Villa are currently demanding a price within the region of £40 million for the 20 year old - a price which is seen as too expensive for the Hammers, leading them to look at cheaper alternatives for a man upfront.
One alternative striker who caught the interest of Lopetegui, is German international Niclas Füllkrug of Borussia Dortmund as talks had began to take place between the player and West Ham this week.
It is reported by Sky Sports that the German striker is very keen on the move to the Premier League in hopes that it will increase his chances in making the German national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as he could be guaranteed consistent Premier League game time dawning the colours of claret and blue.
Unfortunately for the Hammers, Dortmund would preferably like to keep the formidable striker playing in front of the yellow wall and would not entertain any offers below the £30 million mark - this being frowned upon by many fans due to the striker being 31 years of age and only having 2 years left on his contract at BVB.
As negotiations proceeded through the recent days however, it has been officially been reported by Fabrizio Romano that West Ham have come to an agreement with Borussia Dortmund for Füllkrug.
A a fee of around €27 million plus €5 million add-ons has also been agreed on with a contract running until June 2027 - as reported by Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal on X).
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What to expect from Füllkrug:
After an impressive season for both club and country, it is no lie that Niclas Füllkrug is an old school poacher.
Tallying up a total of 26 G/A to his name and scoring in both the UEFA Champions League quarter finals, semi Final and for Germany in Euro 2024 last season, West Ham fans have cause to get excited in regards to this signing for the East London club.
Additionally, the signing of the experienced striker may also bring some competition into the team as now both Michail Antonio and Danny Ings have to fight for their place in the starting eleven and compete with the German international over who plays upfront this season under Lopetegui.
At the age of 31 the German has proven over the years that age is not always a problem in this game, consistently playing in the Champions League and at Germany’s top level for Dortmund.
Although many West Ham fans have criticised this signing due to Füllkrug being on the later side of his career, with age comes experience, that of which this Hammers side have lacked since the retirement of experienced club legend Mark Noble in 2022.
With newly appointed manager Julen Lopetegui taking over from Scotsman David Moyes, West Ham fans have been given a glimpse of the type of football which he favours, as shown in the most recent pre-season games.
Lopetegui prefers possession based football and has regularly stated that he wants to play as an attacking team who causes problems upfront.
This would be hugely beneficial for Füllkrug as he can rely on talented wingers Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus to cross the ball to him in the box, allowing him produce goals from both his feet and head- his aerial ability being one of his key strengths.
Lopetegui also relies on a big man upfront to pull the defenders out of position and be a constant threat high up the pitch, a role that Füllkrug can definitely fufill as he has done so for many years in Germany, proving his versatility and finishing in front of goal.
Nonetheless, not all players are perfect, as it is not secret that the German striker struggles with offside awareness and doesn’t contribute much defensively. Possibly two issues which coaching under Lopetegui could either solve or improve?
Besides this, it is no doubt that Niclas Füllkrug can bring goals into the equation for West Ham and is also a very exciting player.
