Füllkrug Admission Raises Uncomfortable Question About West Ham’s Striker Recruitment

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to pay attention to what Niclas Füllkrug says about West Ham. However, the fact that he currently tops the Bundesliga goalscoring charts with nine goals in nine games for Werder Bremen does lend some credibility to his latest comments.

Speaking while on international duty with Germany, Füllkrug has suggested that a lack of service was partly responsible for his struggles at West Ham and AC Milan. In an interview published by the German Football Association, he explained that his Bremen teammates actively look to find him with the ball, something he felt was missing at his previous two clubs.

The German striker cost West Ham £27 million when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund, and there’s little doubt in my mind that the Hammers failed to have a proper plan for incorporating him into the team. However, Füllkrug must also take his share of the blame because his first season was blighted by injury, and he also spoke about feeling homesick.

West Ham Never Really Got To See The Best Of Füllkrug

The truth is that Füllkrug was never really on the pitch for long enough for us to discover whether anything could have come from his transfer. His constant fitness problems made it almost impossible to establish any consistency, and he has now acknowledged that staying fit was the key issue during his time abroad.

That said, there is little in West Ham’s performances under Julen Lopetegui, Graham Potter or Nuno Espírito Santo that suggests we would have been able to get the best out of what is clearly a talented striker.

There may well be something in his assertion that he wasn’t given a decent supply line when he did play for West Ham. Indeed, we’ve previously looked at how Bremen have built their attacking play around Füllkrug, with teammates providing the service and support he so often appeared to lack in East London.

Füllkrug Must Take Responsibility For His Fitness

As for his fitness, I’m afraid that’s very much on him. West Ham have consistently demonstrated over the past few years that their medical team, physiotherapists and fitness staff have generally done a good job of keeping players available.

Füllkrug’s injury record was a significant part of the problem, and whilst it’s perfectly reasonable for him to question the service he received, it doesn’t explain why he spent so much of his West Ham career unavailable for selection.

Nevertheless, watching a striker who managed just three goals for West Ham now leading the Bundesliga scoring charts is bound to raise questions about the original recruitment decision. The fact that the club are still dealing with the financial consequences of his move only adds to the frustration.

Füllkrug has rediscovered his goalscoring touch at Bremen, and good luck to him. But I suspect the truth about his West Ham failure lies somewhere between the club not knowing how to use him and the player simply not being fit enough to give himself a proper chance.