After his six-month loan to AC Milan, Niclas Füllkrug is now back in London. However, West Ham United doesn’t even have a jersey number available for the 33-year-old.
After 14 consecutive seasons in the Premier League, West Ham will kick off its first Championship season this coming weekend. The East London club must tackle its mission to return to the Premier League without big names like Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham Hotspur) or Crysencio Summerville (Al-Hilal), who left the club this summer. This path also seems to be set for Niclas Füllkrug.
After spending the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan (20 games, one goal), the German has returned to the English capital following his summer vacation. However, the club has made it unmistakably clear that they have no plans for him there.
Füllkrug Misses Media Day and League Cup
In addition to Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who are looking to leave, Füllkrug was also absent a few days ago from the Hammers’ Media Day, during which the individual and team photos for the upcoming season were taken. According to reports, he is not even allowed to train with the team, and he was also recently left out of the League Cup squad (a 3-1 win over Portsmouth).
Unlike in the cases of Todibo and Wan-Bissaka, however, Füllkrug’s absence appears to have been a measure dictated by the club rather than one he initiated himself. This assumption is underscored by a look at the official roster, in which all players have been assigned a jersey number—with the exception of Füllkrug, whose original number 11 is now worn by Taty.
Venice Transfer Likely Off the Table
Two years after leaving Dortmund, a premature end to his tenure at West Ham appears to be on the horizon, even though the 33-year-old is actually under contract there through 2028. Füllkrug, who was repeatedly hampered by injuries, was unable to justify the 27 million euro transfer fee paid for him at the time. In 26 league games, he scored only three goals for the Hammers.
The forward, who was also loosely linked to a return to Bremen months ago, would likely have been happy to seize another opportunity in Italy. According to information from *Bild*, he had already reached an agreement with Serie A club FC Venezia. However, the planned transfer ultimately fell through due to the English second-division club’s excessive transfer fee demand.
So the search for a new employer continues—as does the search for a jersey number.