Niclas Fullkrug makes ‘gigantic’ West Ham United admission
Niclas Fullkrug has revealed that Tim Steidten was the decisive factor behind his summer transfer to West Ham United.
The Germany international joined the Hammers on a £27million deal from Borussia Dortmund in August, putting pen to paper on a four-year contract [BBC].
Discussing the transfer, he labelled the transfer fee as “natural” and added that it was a sign of appreciation from the club.
“In the end, it [the transfer fee] has nothing to do with me, it’s just the market that’s like that, the sum is natural,” Fullkrug said on the eingeDEICHt podcast (22 October).
“That is of course a gigantic appreciation from Tim’s club. [Steidten] was a decisive reason why I ended up dealing with West Ham at all, he was the one who sought the contact.
“I have access to him and he also has access to me and we know each other a lot through conversations. We were more familiar and he showed me everything.
“It wasn’t necessary, of course, BVB didn’t have to give me away. They would have liked to start the season with two top strikers.
“In the end, a certain sum was necessary and that’s just the way it is, that’s the Premier League, that’s England and they’re able to do that.”
Niclas Fullkrug fitness concern for West Ham United
Spending £27million on a 31-year-old striker could soon come back to haunt West Ham as there are growing concerns about his fitness.
Fullkrug has played just 63 minutes of Premier League football across three games and question marks are being raised over Steidten’s decision to fork out such an amount of money on him.
The Irons are sorely missing the presence of a potent striker up front, with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings only scoring twice between them.
Fullkrug has not played for the club since appearing in their 3-1 league loss to Manchester City on 31 August and it is still not clear when he will return to action.
The player is said to have flown to Germany to get injections to speed up his recovery [The Sun], while West Ham are considering signing a new striker, according to talkSPORT.
With the team sitting fifteenth in the table after eight games, Julen Lopetegui could really do with the German’s return.
In other West Ham news, a behind-the-scenes problem has been mooted for this Irons star amid recent developments.
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