The more I see of Niclas FĆ¼llkrug, the more I like.
I must admit, I knew little about the player when West Ham shelled out Ā£27m on the Borussia Dortmund striker. If Iām honest, I was a little underwhelmed by the age profile ā but mostly because he wasnāt Jhon DurĆ”n.
West Hamās botched attempts to sign the Aston Villa striker saw us miss out on his signature by a paltry Ā£3m, and it didnāt help that he scored against us in the first game of the season.
Factor in FĆ¼llkrugās two significant spells out injured this season, along with rumours he wanted to return home, and itās easy to see why this wasnāt a transfer fans immediately warmed to.
However, Iāve been genuinely impressed with FĆ¼llkrug in the short time Iāve seen him in a Hammers shirt. Heās quickly established himself as a must-start in the first team.
His aggressive style and awareness of his teammatesā positions seem to cause havoc among opposition defences, and my opinion has shifted from wanting him gone to thinking heās now a major asset.
But that must not come at the expense of signing another striker this summer.
As impressive as FĆ¼llkrug has looked, he hasnāt suddenly become less injury-prone. As things stand, heās just as likely to get injured as he is to score ā and West Ham must plan for that.
So, whether itās Jonathan David or someone else on the clubās radar, recruitment in that area has to continue. And if we also have the luxury of a fully fit Niclas FĆ¼llkrug to supplement the new forward ā all the better.
It should be viewed that Fullkrug will not be starting new season.
If that proves to be incorrect all be it but realistically need to sign two strikers.
Heavy-duty striker plus a back-up both who are affordable.
That eliminates David who was never coming pecking order puts us out of reach.
Very weak subs bench caused Moyes lots of problems which can’t be repeated.
Hopefully additional academy players will be available
Of course we must bring in another striker, we need a squad of players and the fitness of Fullkrug is a concern. Heās looking sharp, so fingers crossed he can stay fit !
Look at the benches of so called smaller clubs, and they embarrass West Ham with who they can bring on. If we donāt want to struggle again next season please show some ambition.
Success?
Fully agree, we made that mistake with no real option to Antonio. I never really believed Duran would come to us with Villa playing us along and he has ended up in Saudi on massive pay so money orientated only plus dodgy temperament!
I hope our medics can keep Fullkrigg fit as they did with Antonio in Moyes era