Tim Steidten, the former West Ham United technical director, appears to be a man in self-preservation mode four months after his departure from the Premier League outfit.
A man whose reputation plummeted from the literal sky-high heights of sharing a private jet with Mohammed Kudus to the bitter lows of an ill-fated 2024 summer transfer window.
Tim Steidten pulled off a major coup convincing Kudus to join West Ham United alongside his former Ajax teammate, and the similarly coveted Edson Alvarez.
One year later, however, the struggles of Luis Guilherme, Guido Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug meant that the former Bayer Leverkusen chief would bid farewell to the London Stadium to as many ‘good riddances’ as heartfelt ‘goodbyes’.
The jury remains out, meanwhile, on both Max Kilman and the injury-hit Crysencio Summerville. Not to mention Jean-Clair Todibo.
Steidten came under fierce criticism for Fullkrug, in particular. While prolific in Germany, the late-blooming targetman has looked ill at ease with the speed of English football.
Speaking to Sky Germany this week, however, a bullish Steidten is refusing to write off the deal which brought Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund to the London Stadium.
Tim Steidten ahead of West Ham United FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC - Premier League
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Tim Steidten backs Niclas Fullkrug to come good at West Ham United
As James Ward-Prowse backs Fullkrug to silence his critics over the coming months, Steidten is confident too that a man with 14 goals in 24 Germany caps will come good in the end.
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The German also claims that, while many reports have focused on a total potential sum of £27 million, West Ham actually paid an initial fee of £19 million to take the former Werder Bremen talisman away from Signal Iduna Park.
“We ended up paying 22 million euros with Dortmund, and I would do the same transfer again anytime,” Steidten argues. “Dortmund said he was too expensive. For me, he was still too cheap!
“Niclas wasn’t just the type of player I was looking for on the pitch, but also someone who could lead the team off it. I would have paid even more if it had been my own money!”
Fullkrug is determined to bounce back at West Ham. Like Summerville, injuries restricted his involvement and limited his impact. A tally of three goals and two assists from six Premier League starts is a tantalising insight into what Fullkrug is capable of when fully fit, while the 32-year-old also impressed briefly in an Olivier Giroud-esque link-man role during the spring.
Niclas Fullkrug during West Ham United FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC - Premier League
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“Niclas is fit. I wrote to him a few days ago. Physically, he’s in top shape,” Steidten adds. “I’m sure he’ll perform 100 percent in the Premier League.”
Fullkrug has already made his plans at West Ham clear
The departures of Danny Ings, Michail Antonio and former Brighton loanee Evan Ferguson mean Fullkrug is Graham Potter’s only senior centre-forward at present. Once the Hammers finally succeed in bringing in a new number nine – and they surely will, despite various centre-forward targets slipping through the net already – Fullkrug should have fresh competition.
Though this is not something he is likely to shy away from.
“I didn’t join a club at 32 to use it as a springboard,” Fullkrug told Kicker in the spring. “I’ve never had any intention of leaving West Ham, and that’s not even on my mind right now because I’m really enjoying this job at the moment.
“I find a challenge like this appealing. Moving to a club that isn’t yet where you want to be.”