West Ham United did not need a crystal ball to see this coming, Nuno Espirito Santo the new victim of the failures which undermined his London Stadium predecessor Graham Potter.
Now, Potter was far from faultless during a dismal eight-month reign in which he racked up a win rate of just 24 per cent.
But the man sacked by West Ham United in late-September would be forgiven if he laid at least some of the blame at the door of the recruitment staff.
Speaking back in August, albeit a few days before both Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa arrived to beef up the Hammers midfield, former Upton Park boss Alan Pardew hit out at an ‘underwhelming’ record in the transfer department.
Why did the Hammers not sign Viktor Gyokeres, for instance, during his Coventry City days?
More pertinently, why did West Ham not give Potter the attacking options he so clearly needed, on the back of an injury-hit debut season in which Niclas Fullkrug started only six Premier League matches?
Now, while Nuno is not one to usually make excuses, the prospect of a month of Premier League action with only a 33-year-old Callum Wilson and the exciting but unproven Callum Marshall to call upon once again sheds a pretty harsh light on those transfer market failings.
West Ham United fans fume after latest Niclas Fullkrug injury
Speaking on Thursday, before Germany cruised to a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg in World Cup qualifying, head coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed Niclas Fullkrug’s latest injury.
A torn thigh muscle which, should it render him unavailable for the next month, will see the 32-year-old miss a more winnable selection of fixtures against Brentford, Leeds, Newcastle and Burnley.
Then again, given that Fullkrug is already approaching veteran status, and had missed 30 games for club and country since the start of 2024/25, it’s not as if the Hammers weren’t warned.
“It’s utterly unhinged that West Ham went into this season with Fullkrug and Wilson as the strikers,” one frustrated fan writes on X. “I’m no fan of Potter, but he was handed a [bad hand] there. Abysmal recruitment.”
Former England poacher Darren Bent argued a few months ago that West Ham had wasted well over £100 million on a series of overpriced, under-performing additions, from James Ward-Prowse to Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Gianluca Scamacca.
With just 11 Premier League starts and three goals, the £27 million spent on Fullkrug is starting to look like a financial and sporting blunder up there with the very worst.
“Fullkrug, [Jean-Clair] Todibo, ‘JWP’, Kilman… What a waste of money,” another fan says.
“Fullkrug is always picking up injuries now on international duty. I hope we bring in a striker in January.”
“Ah, Fullkrug. The gift that keeps on giving.”
“Good thing we bought a fit, competent striker in the summer,” one adds, their comments dripping with bitter sarcasm.
“I don’t think it can be considered bad luck when an injury-prone striker in his 30s continues to get injured. If only there was a recent transfer window to address this issue…”
“Give him a pay out and let him go. Waste of a squad place.”
Real Madrid’s Endrick and Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood on the radar
The silver lining, of course, is that Fullkrug’s absence opens the door for Callum Marshall to consolidate his place in Nuno’s long-term plans.
Though, with the equally ageing and injury-prone Wilson the other alternative, the January window is already starting to feel like an opportunity West Ham cannot afford to waste.
Upton Park icon Harry Redknapp believes a striker is a must, and he is not alone.
Hammers News have been informed, via chief football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Real Madrid starlet Endrick is an option should he be allowed to leave the Santiago Bernabeu on loan during the winter.
Nuno would like to reunite with Chris Wood, too. But, despite netting a career-best 20 Premier League goals for Nottingham Forest last term, adding a third 30-something centre-forward to the ranks would be, well, very West Ham.
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