It is no surprise that Niclas Fullkrug appears invigorated by the arrival of former Slavia Prague left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf at West Ham United.
A footballer cut from the same cloth as former assist king Aaron Cresswell, Malick Diouf impressed on his West Ham debut during Sunday’s 3-1 friendly victory over Grasshopper Zurich.
He came within a whisker of a debut assist too. A Cresswell-esque cross from the left flank very nearly turned home at the back stick by Tomas Soucek.
Starved of quality service during much of his debut season at West Ham United, no wonder Niclas Fullkrug is excited to see Diouf build on his undoubted potential in the English capital. Fullkrug is a centre-forward who thrives on crosses, and this is where Diouf excels.
Two-thirds of Fullkrug’s Premier League goals so far have come with his head. The German has a long way to go before he comes close to matching the tally of 22 put forward by Everton legend Tim Cahill, however.
A power-packed pocket-rocket who, if Alan Pardew had had his way, would have spent his prime years soaring through the air in claret and blue instead.
Alan Pardew wanted Everton legend Tim Cahill at West Ham United
Speaking to talkSPORT, the man who coached West Ham from 2003 to 2006 admitted he was ‘desperate’ to work alongside a young Tim Cahill at Upton Park.
The Australia icon would slip through Pardew’s grasp when joining Everton from Millwall to the tune of just £1.5 million, however.
A deal which, eight years and 68 Everton goals later, would go down as one of the best pound-for-pound signings of the Premier League era.
“What a good player he was,” Pardew sighs. “Let me tell you, he was technically one of the best headers of a ball I’ve seen for a number of years.
“When he used to get a chance in the box with his head, he had this tremendous leap with great power even if there was no power on the cross.
“I tried to sign him a couple of times. At West Ham, I was desperate to take him. I just couldn’t get him. Big fan of his.”
Niclas Fullkrug shares his first impressions of El Hadji Malick Diouf
Nearly 40 per cent of Cahill’s 56 Premier League strikes came via his head.
The man currently in charge of West Ham, Graham Potter, can only hope that a Diouf – Fullkrug partnership proves as fruitful as the Leighton Baines – Tim Cahill union which underpinned much of Everton’s success during David Moyes’ first spell on Merseyside.
“[Diouf is] a very physically strong guy, has a lot of good crosses per game,” Fullkrug told the official West Ham website after Andy Irving, Callum Marshall and Lucas Paqueta scored in that Grasshopper Zurich victory.
“And I’ve had a look at his stats, which are impressive [seven goals and four assists last season for Slavia Prague]. He’s a very good player. He also did very well in the UEFA Europa League, so we’re happy to have him.
“Let’s see how we get on this season.”
Cahill ranks joint-ninth in the all-time list for the most headed Premier League goals.
Peter Crouch understandably leads the way with 40, while recently-departed West Ham favourite Michail Antonio will hope to add to a tally of 25 when he finds a new club.
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