West Ham want Fullkrug upgrade who’s “blowing teams away”

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Julen Lopetegui’s first window in charge at West Ham was a very busy one, spending around £120.3m) on ten new signings (two of which were on loan), whilst eight players left the club on permanent deals, and five left on loan deals.

The Hammers’ biggest signing of the summer was someone Lopetegui has worked with before, signing Wolves defender, Max KIlman, for a fee of around £40m, penning a seven-year deal. Kilman has already made 12 appearances for the side, providing one assist, and contributing to two clean sheets in his 1,080 minutes played.

West Ham 2024/25 signings
Player	Fee (£)
Maximilian Kilman	£40m
Crysencio Summerville	£24.3m
Niclas Füllkrug	£22.4m
Luis Guilherme	£19.1m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	£14.6m
Guido Rodriguez	£0
Wes Foderingham	£0
Stats taken from Transfermarkt

Fullkrug, who was signed from Dortmund this summer, has only managed to make four appearances so far, yet to provide a single goal or assist, and has only totalled 137 minutes played after arriving.

The Hammers are still in desperate need of a striker, and if the German doesn’t return to prove himself soon, they could be forced to make a move in January.

The striker West Ham could sign

According to OTV Foco, West Ham target Igor Jesus, who plays for Botafogo in Brazil, has rejected a move to the Premier League.

The report states that the Hammers offered around £30m for the Brazilian last week as they sought a replacement for the injured Fullkrug and the failing Michail Antonio, but it was rejected.

Described as “great” talent by Ben Mattinson after scoring for Brazil on his debut, Jesus is clearly lighting it up for Botafogo this season, with the Brazilian side already in the Copa Libertadores Final, and sitting top of the Serie A, as Jesus continues “blowing teams away” in the words of one Brazilian expert.

The 23-year-old has made 23 appearances for Botafogo this term, scoring eight goals, providing three assists, and totalling 1,597 minutes played.

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How Igor Jesus compares to Fullkrug

Antonio is the other striking option at West Ham currently, starting most weeks in the absence of Fullkrug.

The 34-year-old has made 11 appearances for the Hammers this season, scoring just one goal, providing one assist, and totalling 639 minutes played.

With both Fullkrug (31-years-old) and Antonio (34-years-old), West Ham could really do with some youth in their striking department, and that is where 23-year-old Jesus comes in, who can offer the Hammers a different profile of striker.

Jesus (24/25) vs Fullkrug (23/24) & Antonio (24/25)
Stats (per 90 mins)	Jesus	Fullkrug	Antonio
Goals	0.50	0.40	0.14
Assists	0.19	0.25	0.14
xG	0.39	0.48	0.28
Progressive Carries	1.44	0.76	2.54
Progressive Passes	2.75	2.28	1.94
Shots Total	3.31	2.34	2.43
Shots/Goal	0.15	0.13	0.06
Key Passes	1.31	1.47	1.04
Shot-Creating Actions	3.50	2.52	2.54
Aerials Won	3.25	3.49	1.49
Stats taken from FBref

Due to Fullkrug’s injuries this season, it is a better reflection to analyse his metrics from last campaign (2023/24), but Jesus trumps him in some key areas.

The German ranks highest in four of the ten metrics, with the most assists per 90, generating the most xG, playing the most key passes, and winning the most aerial duels per 90.

Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.

However, Jesus is ahead in five of the ten metrics, scoring the most goals per 90, having the best shot volume and shot conversion rate, making the most shot-creating actions per 90, and playing the most progressive passes per 90.

If Jesus is signed and Fullkrug can return to full fitness, that would give West Ham a good striker selection, with Antonio also available, allowing them to slowly phase him out, and integrate Jesus as their new number nine.