When Niclas Fullkrug’s agent came forth a few weeks ago, spelling out their plan for a change of scenery, the West Ham United striker might have expected the offers to come tumbling in.
But while it is still early days – over a month to go before the transfer window opens – opportunities have been few and far between thus far.
It is three weeks now since Thorsten Wirth, the Germany international’s representative, acknowledged that Fullkrug’s Premier League stint has not gone to plan.
Sixteen months after arriving to the tune of £27 million, the former Borussia Dortmund targetman has just three goals from a miserly tally of eleven top-flight starts.
The ‘magnificent’ Callum Wilson is going from strength-to-strength in Niclas Fullkrug’s recent injury-enforced absence, meanwhile. In fact, Wilson has scored more league goals in a West Ham United jersey already than his fellow centre-forward, despite Fullkrug arriving a year earlier.
So although Fullkrug may have hoped that his reputation would survive a poor spell in claret and blue, the 32-year-old could be in for a pretty nasty surprise.
Tuttomercatoweb report that both Roma and AC Milan have turned their noses up at West Ham’s number eleven. And while the Italian publication insist that a return to the Bundesliga is more likely than a fresh start in Serie A, that in itself is beset with potential issues.
Why Roma and AC Milan have rejected West Ham United flop Niclas Fullkrug
According to Sky Germany reporter Patrick Berger, Fullkrug’s wages are a big ‘hurdle’ for his Bundesliga-based suitors. Wolfsburg and Augsburg are the two clubs most heavily linked.
There are doubts, though, about whether the two clubs can even afford him in the first place.
Champions League-chasing Stuttgart have already ruled out signing Fullkrug. Hammers News have also been told that West Ham will demand a substantial sum, even if their hopes of recouping that £27 million investment look decidedly slim.
Italian reporter Gianluca di Marzio then claimed that Fullkrug would welcome a move to Italy. It seems that his desire for a new challenge on Serie A soil is not something reciprocated, though, by two of the biggest sides in the land.
Why do you think Niclas Fullkrug failed?
Tuttomercatoweb say that Fullkrug has been ‘offered’ to both Roma and AC Milan, presumably by an agent desperate to keep his client’s World Cup hopes alive.
Neither the Giallorossi nor the Rossoneri plan to take the bait, though.
Roma, sitting at the Serie A summit despite having scored the fewest goals in the top seven, reportedly want a ‘different option’ up top. AC Milan, meanwhile, have serious reservations about Fullkrug’s longevity. His birthday cake, next February, will be decorated by no fewer than 33 candles.
‘In short, a move to Italy seems complicated’, Tuttomercatoweb write.
Artem Dovbyk and Santiago Gimenez seem unlikely to join the Hammers
In the process, Roma have seemingly ruled out the prospect of Artem Dovbyk moving to London as part of a deal that would see Fullkrug go in the other direction. Dovbyk held talks with West Ham back in 2024, shortly after claiming La Liga’s Golden Boot with Girona.
Hammers News have been told that Milan value Santiago Gimenez at around £30 million, meanwhile. The Mexican poacher has also been mentioned as in a potential Fullkrug-themed exchange, though plenty of pundits back home have expressed serious reservations about such an arrangement.
Rodrigo Lara, speaking to TNT Sports Mexico last week, feels that former Feyenoord marksman Gimenez is not suited to English football in his current guise.
Who is your no 1 striker signing for West Ham? And is Santiago Gimenez really good enough?
“I think it’s more like a fairytale [than a realistic expectation],” Lara says. “[The fans] want to see Santi Gimenez playing in the Premier League, and they are putting him in any team.
“[Because they have had] Chicharito, Guillermo Franco, Pablo Barrera, Edson Alvarez, then [some fans think] another Mexican should arrive at West Ham.
“Well, it’s difficult. I honestly don’t see Santi Gimenez at that level yet. For him to go to a Premier League team, he needs to get stronger.
“He needs to improve how he scores goals, because Premier League football is very fast, very physical, very strong, very quick. I think Santi Gimenez is still in the process of adapting to the Italian league. Serie A is very defensive and the Premier League is another level. It’s a whole different beast.
“If he is finding it difficult in Serie A, he is going to find it more difficult in the Premier League.”
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