AC Milan ready Niclas Fullkrug offer amid damning internal verdict at West Ham
AC Milan are reportedly preparing a bid to take Niclas Fullkrug off West Ham’s hands on loan.
The striker is available at the London Stadium after a season and a half beset by injuries in which he has only scored just three goals in 29 appearances.
Now stuck behind Callum Wilson under Nuno Espirito Santo, Fullkrug wants to leave West Ham to boost his World Cup chances.
The former Borussia Dortmund man was brought in while compatriot Tim Steidten was in charge of recruitment, but with the former technical director sacked last season the club are looking to clear out more of his work.
West Ham consider Fullkrug one of Tim Steidten’s worst
According to an update in The Guardian the damning internal view of Fullkrug at West Ham is that 32-year-old is one of Steidten’s “worst” mistakes.
The German spent heavily after the exit of David Moyes two summers ago, with the likes of Max Kilman, Crycensio Summerville and Luis Guilherme all brought in for new boss Julen Lopetegui.
But the campaign was a disaster and neither of them lasted, with Graham Potter and his own recruitment staff brought in, who have since themselves been removed.
Fullkrug signed a four-year deal when he arrived and his wages are reportedly making suitors reluctant to do a permanent deal for him in January, but a temporary switch to Milan for the remainder of the season is seen as a “possibility”.
David Sullivan to blame for Steidten catastrophe
At the time some of Steidten’s workings in the transfer market looked like they might be heralding an exciting new era after the cautious pragmatism that characterised Moyes’ steady success and fall.
But few of the signings he made have gone down as definite successes, with his previous crowning achievement in Mohammed Kudus already sold on to Tottenham.
On some levels Fullkrug seemed like he might finally be the answer to West Ham’s long-term, and very expensive, failed attempts to land a regular striker given his style felt like it would suit the Premier League and even his age, while a concern, should have meant he wouldn’t wilt under the pressure of the price-tag and the expectations.
But the fact that Steidten clashed with both Moyes and Lopetegui suggests a major disconnect between the recruitment department and coaching staff, and clearly it led to major wastage and no success.
That makes it all the stranger that David Sullivan apparently elevated Steidten to such a powerful position at West Ham, and he is still now picking up the pieces of that mistake.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest West Ham United news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @westhamzone247