Niclas Füllkrug’s Premier League adventure has been a disappointment so far. Now his agent is discussing a possible departure.
When West Ham United won a Premier League game for the first time since August on Sunday, Niclas Füllkrug was once again not involved. The 24-time international has been sidelined for weeks with a torn muscle. Even after almost a year and a half, he is still waiting for his breakthrough in England – or will it never come?
Füllkrug is apparently considering leaving West Ham again, even though his contract is valid until summer 2028. “Looking back, you have to say that the transfer didn’t work out,” his agent Thorsten Wirth admits in the Tomorrow Business Podcast. “There’s no point in sugarcoating it.” The move didn’t “go ideally” for either Füllkrug or West Ham.
That’s why we have to ask ourselves: “How much longer should we give it time, or is it already time to react?” Wirth’s answer, delivered with a meaningful laugh: It “might make sense to change something,” even if a transfer “always has to happen in cooperation with the club.”
When Füllkrug left Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024, a move to England seemed obvious. As a physically strong striker, he was “actually made for the Premier League,” Wirth believes. But neither West Ham, which had invested heavily in its squad at the time and was aiming for the European Cup, nor Füllkrug were able to live up to expectations.
Füllkrug is not the only one surrounded by “negative momentum”
“Niclas has also had incredible bad luck with injuries. Every time you said, okay, now he’s coming, now he’s going to show England that it wasn’t just a good European Championship, he got injured again,” Wirth laments. As a result, Füllkrug has only made 24 Premier League appearances and scored just three goals, while his club is already on its third coach and sits 18th in the table. When Wirth talks about “negative momentum” for his client, the same certainly applies to the Hammers.
It remains to be seen what role Füllkrug will play under new coach Nuno Espirito Santo once he has recovered. One thing is clear: the 32-year-old must seriously fear for his participation in the 2026 World Cup. He was not considered for the most recent squad. After all, national coach Julian Nagelsmann would have nominated him during the October international break if it hadn’t been for the torn muscle.
