West Ham United are being given compensation by FIFA, as a club source shares some more injury news on summer signing Niclas Fullkrug.
West Ham criticised for Fullkrug signing after injury-ridden start
During the summer transfer window, technical director Tim Steidten moved to end West Ham’s striker search with a £27 million deal for the Germany international, following a campaign where he bagged 16 goals in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund.
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Fullkrug arrived with a decent reputation, and it was hoped that the 31-year-old’s capture would end West Ham’s reliance on an aging strike force in Michail Antonio and the out-of-favour Danny Ings.
However, it took just weeks into his Hammers career for Fullkrug to pick up an achilles tendon injury, which he sustained during an international tour of duty for Germany last month.
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West Ham Results: 2024/25 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Match |
Date |
Opponent |
Competition |
Result |
|
#10 |
19/10/2024 |
Tottenham (A) |
Premier League |
4-1 loss |
|
#9 |
05/10/2024 |
Ipswich (H) |
Premier League |
4-1 win |
|
#8 |
28/09/2024 |
Brentford (A) |
Premier League |
1-1 draw |
|
#7 |
25/09/2024 |
Liverpool (A) |
Carabao Cup |
5-1 loss |
|
#6 |
21/09/2024 |
Chelsea (H) |
Premier League |
3-0 loss |
|
#5 |
14/09/2024 |
Fulham (A) |
Premier League |
1-1 draw |
|
#4 |
31/08/2024 |
Man City (H) |
Premier League |
3-1 loss |
|
#3 |
28/08/2024 |
Bournemouth (H) |
Carabao Cup |
1-0 win |
|
#2 |
24/08/2024 |
Crystal Palace (A) |
Premier League |
2-0 win |
|
#1 |
17/08/2024 |
Aston Villa (H) |
Premier League |
2-1 loss |
In a stroke of real bad luck for new manager Julen Lopetegui, who is under pressure amid a lacklustre start to his career in the London Stadium dugout, the Spaniard has been unable to call upon Fullkrug ever since.
It was hoped at one point that Fullkrug would make a swift return to action for West Ham, but optimism over his fitness has waned if anything. As such, West Ham are targeting a new striker in January, and they’ve been criticised for striking a deal for the ex-Werder Bremen star.
“He had a few issues during his time in Germany with his fitness,” said ex-recruitment chief Mick Brown to Football Insider.
“That, I’ve heard, played a part in the reason Dortmund were keen to let him go. So if that was an issue, and it was known in Germany, you’ve got to ask serious questions about why it was overlooked by West Ham.
“Paying almost £30million for a 31-year-old is always risky, but spending that money on a player with fitness issues at that age is a huge problem.”
Insider shares Niclas Fullkrug injury update out of West Ham
Taking to X, insider Sean Whetstone has shared what he’s heard on the player’s injury status via club sources.
He writes that West Ham are being given compensation by FIFA over Fullkrug’s injury, ue to the playing buffering the injury on international duty, with the forward returning to his homeland for treatment.
“Club sources have confirmed the earlier story that Niclas Fullkrug has returned to Germany for treatment,” said Whetstone.
“The article in the Sun newspaper said the German international returned to his homework for recovery and he will have a series of injections. The source said ‘Sadly it’s true, we don’t seem to be having any luck with this player’.”
This comes after Lopetegui admitted to the media that there had been a Fullkrug complication, despite the injury originally being minor.
“The problem is that Niclas had one minor injury at the start,” said Lopetegui.
“But there’s been a bit of a complication with this injury, and we are waiting for him to recover. It’s true that we thought he would be out for two weeks maximum, but it’s been a month and a half. Hopefully he will be ready for the next matches, but right now he is out.”
