Alan Pardew and Alan Brazil react to Niclas Fullkrug transfer to West Ham United
Alan Pardew and Alan Brazil have shared their opinions on Niclas Fullkrug’s potential move to West Ham live on talkSPORT.
The Hammers are advancing in a deal to sign the Borussia Dortmund striker, according to Sky Sports, with work still to do in terms of the transfer fee and personal terms.
Talks are said to be progressing positively and the London club are growing confident that an agreement can be reached, with Tim Steidten having a long-time admiration for the player [Patrick Berger].
Speaking live via talkSPORT on Wednesday (31 July, 6:52am), Brazil said: “Oh, the German? I like him. He only scored twice at Euro 2024 – is that all? I thought he got more than that.
Pardew responded: “He’s a proper old-school striker.”
West Ham United to change attacking style for Niclas Fullkrug?
The 31-year-old German will provide a very different attacking outlet up front than Michail Antonio or Danny Ings have been able to offer in recent seasons.
Despite his stature, the forward was surprisingly nimble as he impressed at Euro 2024 this summer, scoring against Scotland and Switzerland as a substitute before Germany were knocked out by Spain.
With Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta occupying the flanks, Fullkrug would be supplied with plenty of chances to hit the back of the net, but his height would mean a very direct style of play.
It is unlikely that Julen Lopetegui would deploy such a direct route to the frontline, rather playing through the thirds with overlapping full-backs instead.
With the transfer fees being mooted too, it would be a waste to utilise Fullkrug as an impact player from the substitutes bench, and with Antonio’s recent injury problems, another striker is needed.
Talks with Aston Villa for Jhon Duran look to have fallen through [Sean Whetstone], so the 31-year-old might be the next-best option.
In other West Ham news, Alan Pardew shares a Kalvin Phillips verdict after Hammers developments.
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