The signing of Niclas Fullkrug has not worked out as expected for West Ham United. The German joined the club from Borussia Dortmund for £27m with plenty of Champions League pedigree, having reached the final of the competition last season. He also featured at Euro 2024 for Germany, scoring two goals for the hosts.
However, the 32-year-old has struggled with two fairly lengthy injuries and has been unable to adapt to the Premier League. He has managed just three goals and two assists in 15 top flight appearances this term. It has certainly been a struggle for Fullkrug.
Despite his woes, the Hammers might look to bring in another German forward this summer to bolster their attack.
West Ham target German forward
It has been a tough time in the Premier League so far for Timo Werner. The former Chelsea man, now on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, will not remain in North London beyond this season, which has seemingly opened up the door for a potential transfer elsewhere in the Premier League.
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Well, according to a report from talkSPORT, the 29-year-old might be set to stay in London, with West Ham one of the sides who are ‘on alert’ to his availability in the coming weeks. His parent club, RB Leipzig, seem willing to sell him this summer.
However, the Hammers are not the only London outfit linked with a move. West Londoners Fulham are also believed to be interested, if the attacker becomes available.
A price is not yet confirmed, but given Spurs had a buy option of £8.5m in their loan deal, it seems safe to assume hw will be available for a similar price this summer.
Why Werner would be a good signing
Make no mistake about it, the 2024/25 campaign for Werner has been underwhelming. He is far from the attacker who tore the Bundesliga to shreds back in the 2019/20 season, where he scored 28 goals and grabbed eight assists in just 34 games. That sort of form led Statman Dave to describe him as “very special”.
This term has been at the other end of the spectrum for the former Stuttgart attacker. He has played 27 times for Spurs across all competitions, featuring for 946 minutes. That equates to just 10.5 full 90-minute games. Since the turn of the year, he’s played just 70 Premier League minutes.
Werner has only managed one goal this term, too. That came against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round, a game which his Spurs side won 2-1. It was a strong finish too, meeting a cross from Dejan Kulusevski and firing home.
Should the Hammers bring Werner to East London this summer, he could prove to be a replacement for Mohammed Kudus. In the same talkSPORT article, it is reported that Arsenal are targeting the Ghana international, with West Ham ‘willing to cash in’ on the attacker.
It has actually not been the easiest season for the Hammers’ number 14, either. He has featured in 29 games in the Premier League this term, but has only managed four goals and two assists in that time.
That is just three goal involvements more than Werner in 11 more games.
There are underlying statistics via FBref to suggest that Werner would not be a bad replacement for Kudus. For example, the German international averages 0.52 goal-creating actions and 1.75 key passes per 90 minutes, compared to Kudus’ 0.26 goal-creating actions and 1.08 key passes each game.
Expected goals
0.18xG
0.26xG
Key passes
1.75
1.08
Goal-creating actions
0.52
0.26
Progressive carries
7.37
3.46
Ball recoveries
3.16
4.76
It might be an outside-of-the-box option, but for a fee that could be £8.5m, the £165k-per-week Werner might be an ideal replacement for Kudus. Like the Ghana international, he has had a tough season, but at his very best, he can hurt teams, having been hailed as a “nuisance” and a “threat” by Sky Sports pundit, Roy Keane.
For such a cheap fee, it seems like a relatively risk-free deal, and one that could enhance the Hammers’ attacking options next term.
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