Niclas Füllkrug: What will the German hitman bring to West Ham United?
West Ham have had something of a shakeup in recruitment recently. Over the past two years or so, slowly but surely, they’ve changed the way they operate when it comes to player acquisition.
Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville and Mohammed Kudus now occupy the flanks for the Hammers along with Jarrod Bowen - whose flair and goalscoring ability is in no way inferior.
West Ham may be firmly rooted in the establishment of English football, but now they have been modernised, behaving in a way not dissimilar from clubs in Germany, Austria and Hungary.
With Tim Steidten as their technical director, the club are heavily involved in the data market with numbers and xG seemingly taking precedence over big names.
Despite his age, their signing of Niclas Füllkrug is very much in the same vein. Crucially the club will be looking at his 0.45 goals per 90 minutes and hoping that will translate from Germany to the Premier League.
It was just one season for the striker at Borussia Dortmund, but his time at Signal Iduna Park has now come to an end with the 31-year-old moving to London on a four-year deal.
Niclas Füllkrug transfer value - how much is he worth now?
According to our algorithm, Füllkrug currently has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €12.5m.
His actual transfer fee was an overall package of €32m including add-ons, but only time will tell if it was money well spent.
Part of the reason the cost was so high is likely that AC Milan and Atlético Madrid were also considered to be interested parties. This was no one-horse race for the German’s signature.
The stats - what can Füllkrug add to West Ham?
Coming through Werder Bremen's youth academy, it took a while for Füllkrug to get going in his professional career.
He struggled to find consistency as a goalscorer, both in the Bundesliga and in the second-tier 2.Bundesliga, and ultimately failed to secure a regular spot with Die Werderaner.
It has only been since the 2022/23 season with Bremen that he finally found a good run of form in Germany’s top division, before landing a €17m switch to Dortmund.
West Ham had initially targeted Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran this summer, but negotiations fell through. They have instead opted for a player with more experience - one they have admired since last year.
Steidten has known Füllkrug since his time at Bremen, and believes he can spice up the club’s attacking intent for the upcoming season. The veteran offers a vast physical presence as well as efficiency in front of goal.
At international level for Germany he has scored a goal every 64 minutes. In the Bundesliga last season he scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in 29 games. If he is given quality service in the penalty area, goals will come in the Premier League for Füllkrug.
He can also dominate both in the air and on the ground, averaging 5.09 duels per 90 minutes last season. It’s an intriguing mix of physical force and finishing power.
Working in Julen Lopetegui’s system will be interesting. In midfield, the Spaniard likes technical players who can execute deft passes and open up dangerous situations in the half space. He also loves a false nine, someone who can hold back defenders and find team-mates on the wing further ahead.
"It is a position where you get smarter with every situation you experience in the box, where you learn and develop a better feel for the next situation," Füllkrug said last year.
"Extremely important are your finishing skills and the sense for your team-mates, to know your teammates well, to know [when to go] for the near post, the far post, the short run, the deep run.”
Füllkrug would obviously work in such a blueprint at West Ham given his physical stature and high volume of assists.
Bringing him in now will raise some eyebrows given his age, but a lot of No.9s in Europe today are finding their best form well into their thirties - and he could just be the next.
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