Let’s not pretend any different. Anything Niklas Füllkrug said to get out of West Ham was nothing more than an excuse.
Ever since Tim Steidten purchased him as the backup option to Jhon Durán, he never adapted to life in East London and at one stage even complained of homesickness within the first couple of months of joining the club.
When the £27 million signing from Borussia Dortmund attempted to force a move away in January, the reasoning given was that he needed regular football elsewhere to secure his international place with Germany. The problem with that excuse was that it simply didn’t stack up.
Even during a poor spell at West Ham, and despite barely staying fit for any meaningful period of time, Füllkrug still made every Germany squad when available. The Hammers weren’t exactly helping his form, but it certainly wasn’t damaging his international prospects to the extent he suggested.
Nagelsmann Says What West Ham Fans Already Knew
Now Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has delivered a pretty blunt explanation as to why the on-loan Milan striker won’t be going to the World Cup.
Speaking about Füllkrug, Nagelsmann said:
“His numbers and his scoring performances for West Ham and Milan speak for themselves. He’s scored very few goals in the last two years.
“It’s true that we have to consider that with Milan he often had to defend and that he came off the bench, but in the end he didn’t score much and someone had to be left out.”
And there you have it.
Straight from the horse’s mouth.
It Was Never About West Ham
Unlike Jarrod Bowen, Niklas Füllkrug hasn’t missed out on the World Cup because of his choice of club.
The Germany manager has made it perfectly clear that the issue was goals, appearances and output. Nothing else.
Not tactics.
Not West Ham.
Not East London.
Just a striker who simply hasn’t played enough football or scored enough goals over the last two years.
For all the noise around needing to leave the Hammers to protect his Germany career, Nagelsmann has now completely dismantled that argument in a few brutally honest sentences.