By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Claret & Hugh have discovered late last night that West Ham currently have two offers on the table for wantaway striker Niclas Füllkrug.
Of course, when I describe the former German international as wantaway, it would be fair to say that not only does he not want to return to the London Stadium, but the club don’t particularly want him here either.
Therefore, it’s safe to report that negotiations are well underway for him to continue his career elsewhere in Europe.
However, as we reported yesterday, there is a reluctance on anybody’s part to pay money for Füllkrug, which is understandable given his lack of goals and game time following his £27m move from Borussia Dortmund.
Italy Or Germany?
Speaking to an agent earlier today, we attempted to discover exactly where the interest was coming from and how likely it was that Füllkrug could be off West Ham’s books sooner rather than later.
We were told:
“A club in Italy is interested, but they will not pay a transfer fee. There’s another one in Germany, but they can’t even cover his salary.”
The Money Problem
Füllkrug is on over £100,000 per week, although like the rest of the squad, with the exception of Jarrod Bowen, he has a 50% wage reduction for playing in the Championship.
Therefore, one suspects he’ll be even less inclined to return to the UK, where he was believed to be homesick, than he was when he was earning double the money.
It will be interesting to see just how stubborn this new version of West Ham are when it comes to demanding fees for players.
At this point, it’s difficult to look at Füllkrug as an asset rather than a financial problem.
Time For A Reality Check
I suspect there won’t be any real movement on his exit until the big German gets real and appreciates that he is no longer the force he once was.
Nobody is going to pay him top money anymore.
And if he wants to keep playing football, he’s probably going to have to accept a pay cut.
Well in between the lines of that story is the gem that his salary has just dropped by 50% should make getting rid of him a bit easier hopefully.
£50,000 a week for doing sweet FA is not a bad deal – think I’d stick around too if I could get something similar… Think the only solution is to buy him out of his contract (painful as that might be). That or, like I’ve suggested before, dye his hair and send him to MU for £60M(ish) and say he’s Fernandes (and that he’s maybe let himself go a bit over the summer, but will be right as rain after a training session or two).
If no club is prepared to pay a fee,
it’s possibly better to send him out on loan, preferably with the other side paying his full salary, every season that runs down his book value is then a par score for SCR_PSR.
One of the worst signings that we have signed in recent history and God knows we have made a few. We just need to get rid of him and his extortionate wages before next season begins.