West Ham continue to be linked with a late transfer window move for Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran but it is looking increasingly unlikely.
West Ham and Aston Villa have been two of the busiest clubs in the summer transfer window.
The Premier League rivals have signed nearly 20 players between them.
But both the Hammers and Villa may not be done just yet as the window draws to a close on Friday night.
West Ham have been involved in protracted, on-off negotiations with Aston Villa for back-up striker Jhon Duran.
Hammers technical director Tim Steidten grew tired of the back and forth with Villa counterpart Monchi, though.
And he switched attentions from Duran to fellow German Niclas Fullkrug.
There’s no hiding the fact some fans were disappointed by that change of plan.
Fullkrug makes it clear West Ham don’t need to sign Villa’s Duran
Especially given the wildly contrasting profiles of Aston Villa’s pacy 20-year-old Colombian and powerful veteran Fullkrug, who turns 32 this season.
Many Hammers fans wanted to see the club sign a young, quick forward and were excited by links to Aston Villa’s Duran.
A deal looked like it was on the cards too when Duran angered Villa by doing a crossed Hammers gesture during a live social media video.
While most fans welcomed the arrival of an experienced goalscorer like Fullkrug, the fact he is 11 years Duran’s senior and lacks speed was raised as a major concern given that pace is a non-negotiable in the Premier League.
Fullkrug did not enjoy the most auspicious of full debuts in the cup win over Bournemouth in midweek.
An alarming video of Fullkrug confirmed West Ham fears as fans call for the club to sign Duran before the deadline.
It is looking increasingly unlikely that West Ham will be able to do a deal for the Villa man now. In this window at least.
But Fullkrug has made it clear West Ham don’t need to sign Aston Villa star Duran with a message to his doubters.
New Hammers striker responds to doubters
Fullkrug has all the makings of a potential West Ham hero.
He already has his own X-rated chant about being the club’s big German.
But West Ham fans are scarred having seen a host of quality strikers fail to work out in the claret and blue down the years.
Sebastien Haller, Gianluca Scamacca and Danny Ings have all flopped.
And Fullkrug’s lack of pace has some supporters fearing he’ll be next.
But Fullkrug has spoken out to insist he needs time to get up to full match fitness as he plays catch-up following a disrupted pre-season.
The 31-year-old also insists he is the man West Ham need up front and that once he gets his first goal, plenty more will follow.
“I had a very late start to pre-season and need some more time to adapt and to get my perfect performance,” Fullkrug told West Ham’s website.
‘Be patient, my goals will come’ says Fullkrug
“Until now, it’s been very good for me as I have nice teammates, very high-quality teammates, and I think we have to trust the process and be patient as we have a new coach and new players, so we have to find a way to connect everything, and I hope for a very successful season…
“I think against Palace I should have scored, but sometimes it’s not that easy. I’m working very hard for that first Premier League goal and working very hard in every training session to improve to get better, in shape, and to score goals like I have throughout the last few years. We have to be patient. They (goals) will come, and once the first has come, the others will fall faster.”
West Ham fans will be hoping so too.
However, if things fail to work out or West Ham’s lack of pace up top is exposed in the coming months, don’t be surprised if the Hammers go back in for Duran in January.
In the meantime let’s hope Fullkrug can be the one to break West Ham’s striker curse.
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