Whilst the bulk of Guardian journalist Jacob Steinbergs’ update concentrated on the transfer of Mohammed Kudus, there was a detail which mostly passed under the radar.
It wasn’t exactly hidden in the small print, but there was a passing mention that West Ham are keen to move on “big earners.” The two examples given were Edson Álvarez and Niclas Füllkrug.
Neither name should come as a huge surprise, but the reaction to the news that the Hammers’ big German striker could be available hasn’t gone down particularly well today.
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However, as Claret & Hugh reported back in April, a decision to offload Füllkrug had already been made—provided the right offer came in. That was well before the club’s sell-to-buy policy became widely known, but even then, a transfer insider told us the former Dortmund man was available for sale.
Fullkrug is not part of West Ham gaffer Potter’s plan
Graham Potter, for his part, is far from convinced that Füllkrug fits into his Hammers project. But that’s only half the story—West Ham’s hierarchy had already made the call to move him on as soon as possible. To say the club were unimpressed with Tim Steidten’s choice of the injury prone striker would be an understatement. However the Hammers board are hardly blameless having failed to back Steidten with his number 1 pick Jhon Duran.
It was only an untimely injury to Fullkrug that thwarted a planned January return to the Bundesliga. And not much has changed since.
Unfortunately for West Ham, we seem to be as bad at selling players as we are at buying them. The club is becoming increasingly desperate—and farcically, it now appears that almost anyone could be on the chopping block.