West Ham United’s summer signing Niclas Fullkrug recently gave his opinion on his ‘really bad start’ to life in East London during an open and honest interview with DeichStube.
The Hammers spent £27m on the 31-year-old German striker after his impressive 23/24 campaign with Borrusia Dortmund and believed he could give star man Michail Antonio a run for his money.
However, things have not worked out too well for the player and the club as he is yet to score his first goal and has only completed 63 minutes of Premier League football before picking up a calf injury while on international duty.
Rumours of a replacement signing have already started to circulate with the January window approaching, but Hammers fans will surely hope Fullkrug can regain some form and consistency before the window.
Fullkrug has finally had his say on how his debut Premier League campaign has started during an appearance on the DeichStube Youtube channel, stating: “I had a really bad start.
“I moved to London to West Ham after a very short summer break and after an intensive year last season, I think I played 57 games last season. And then a short break in which I felt that I had recovered relatively well.
“But then I had a rocket start because I moved here a week and a half before the start of the Premier League season and had a few sessions at BVB.
“I’m working very hard for it. I’m undergoing treatment and I’m getting good support at West Ham and I just hope that I’ll get fit again as soon as possible and can finally play in the Premier League on a permanent basis and show what I’m capable of there too.”
Will Fullkrug get a chance to find form?
As mentioned above, the German international has only managed 63 Premier League minutes before sustaining injury which has kept him out with no concrete return date at the time of writing.
This transfer is a huge disappointment to both fans and the club right now, but it is still early doors and there is plenty of time for Fullkrug to get fit and find the form that earned him the move this summer.
If he can replicate this form, which saw him bag 16 goals and 10 assists in all competitions for die Schwarzgelben, we have a potentially season-changing level striker on our hands. He has proven he can score goals and link the attack together, ranking in the 89th percentile for assists vs other forwards across Europe’s top five leagues.
Having this kind of player linking up with Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus could change West Ham’s fortune this season and help them fight for a European spot once again.
It is refreshing to hear Fullkrug’s honesty on the subject, it can’t be easy to admit that you are not living up to expectations on such a global stage. He has shown he has the character to own his deficiencies, now we need him to get fit and use that hunger to perform well once he is back.