Fullkrug War of Words Ramps up as German ITK Reveals West Ham Transfer Stance

Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has once again delivered a timely update on West Ham – this time concerning the increasingly awkward situation surrounding Niclas Füllkrug.

The German striker is desperate to leave the London Stadium and, by now, that’s hardly breaking news. What’s more interesting is how the club are handling it behind the scenes – and it’s safe to say they’re not playing ball unless the deal is on their terms.

Plettenberg reports that Wolfsburg are in talks to take the player on loan this winter, but West Ham would prefer a permanent transfer or, at the very least, a loan with a realistic obligation to buy. In truth, we’ve heard similar. A top club source told Claret & Hugh last month: “Füllkrug will have to take a pay cut if he wants to leave.” So there’ll be no wage subsidies, and certainly no January fire sale.

AC Milan Lurking – But West Ham Refuse to Blink First

As we revealed last week, there’s still a slim chance that AC Milan could come in for Füllkrug if their move for Santiago Giménez collapses, but that scenario was described to us as “no more than a 10% chance” by our top transfer insider.

As for Wolfsburg, they simply don’t have the funds to do the deal properly. And their new sporting director, Pirmin Schwegler, hasn’t even officially taken up the role yet, meaning he can’t push the move through.

The player wants Germany. West Ham want Italy. Both sides are locked in a high-stakes game of football chicken – and with wages and pride involved, someone’s going to have to blink.

Let’s not sugar-coat it: this has been a disaster of a signing.