Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug recently emerged as a shock transfer target for West Ham United.
The Hammers apparently want to bring the 31-year-old German to the London Stadium this summer.
Niclas Fullkrug was in fine form for Borussia Dortmund last summer, and racked up 15 goals and 10 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions.
He is an old school, target man type striker who has proven himself at every level, and has really impressed with the German national team as well.
However, it must be said that the Dortmund ace is approaching the twilight years of his career. Maybe his best days are behind him.
Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui desperately needs to sign a new striker this summer, but is Fullkrug really the man he wants?
I’m not so sure. I think there is another big fish out there who he really wants to catch…
Niclas Fullkrug could be a smokescreen for West Ham
The powerful German hitman could be set to swap the Bundesliga for the Premier League in the summer transfer window.
However, I’m not totally sold on the fact that he’s even a genuine target for West Ham in the first place.
Maybe I’m being too cynical and will be proven completely wrong somewhere down the line.
Dharmesh Sheth has claimed that two things in particular are currently holding up a deal to bring Fullkrug to the London Stadium:
Those two things are pretty important in a transfer right! Without the fee and wages bring agreed, a deal can’t be considered to be ‘close’.
Get Football News Germany claim that Dortmund could demand as much as £25.3 million for the 31-year-old centre-forward.
I’m sorry but I can’t see the Hammers paying anything like that for the Germany international.
It won’t be long before he’s 32, and there are no guarantees that he actually will succeed in the Premier League.
Niclas Fullkrug is a good striker, and he’d be a very useful option for West Ham. However, I really don’t think we should be paying anything more than £15-17 million for him – that should be our limit.
Fullkrug a smokescreen for Duran?
The Hammers are believed to be still trying to finalise a deal for Jhon Duran for around £30 million.
Amadou Onana was pictured wearing the 20-year-old’s squad number during an Aston Villa training session, and that gave the West Ham fans great hope.
However, Villa appear not to be budging on their £40 million demands for Duran – a fee that is proving to be too rich for the Hammers.
So could the apparent interest in Fullkrug be a smokescreen in order to get villa to lower their asking price for Duran? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me.
It has actually been reported that we’ve even agreed personal terms with the Colombia international, but meeting Villa’s demands for him is proving to be more tricky.
The Aston Villa hitman is the striker Lopetegui should bring to the London Stadium in my opinion.
However, if that’s not possible, I think Niclas Fullkrug is a decent backup option, only if he’s available for under £20 million though.
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