Niclas Fullkrug in pre-season
(Credit: Imago)
Jack Dawson
Sun 3 August 2025 21:18, UK
West Ham picked up a victory in their final friendly of their US tour in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.
The Hammers had a tricky start against Bournemouth, with the Cherries having plenty of chances early on.
However, it was Graham Potter’s side who took the lead through Niclas Fullkrug, who netted after Jarrod Bowen’s layoff.
West Ham doubled their lead in the second half, with El Hadji Malick Diouf sending in an excellent cross for Bowen to convert.
Now, West Ham Zone has analysed each player and rated their performance against the Cherries.
Niclas Fullkrug
Fullkrug scored the opener against Bournemouth (Credit: Imago)
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Fullkrug stars v Bournemouth
A lot has been said about Fullkrug and West Ham’s striker issues. Last season, the German was labelled a flop after only netting three times in all competitions.
While injuries no doubt affected Fullkrug’s form, it was still a disappointing return.
Now, with Callum Wilson the only new striker through the door at West Ham, the 32-year-old is likely to remain the number one choice this campaign.
Niclas Fullkrug in the 2024/25 campaign Stats per 90 minutes
Assists 0.23
Expected assists 0.22
Shot-creating actions 2.51
Passes attempted 22.56
Clearances 1.82
Aerial duels won 4.44
Fullkrug produced multiple decent stats last season despite his goal return
However, so far this pre-season, the striker has looked lively and found the net again on Sunday.
While it was only a tap-in, he had to be in that position to score.
On top of this, Fullkreg showed he was capable of creating as well and proved to link up well with the rest of the squad multiple times in attack.
The German no doubt has a point to prove this summer, and his performance was impressive against the Cherries.
Alphonse Areola in action for West Ham
Areola has continued to underperform for West Ham this season (Credit: Imago)
Alphonse Areola continues to struggle
While West Ham did win the tie, the backline continued to look shaky, and could have easily conceded multiple times.
Unfortunately, Alphonse Areola was central to this, making a number of bizarre decisions throughout the match.
Whether it was the goalkeeper’s positioning, or his distribution, every time the Frenchman was called upon felt like a mistake waiting to happen.
How West Ham didn’t concede when Areola cannoned the ball of Evanilson before it hit the post was sheer luck.
Going into the new campaign, Potter needs a new goalkeeper, with the Frenchman’s confidence clearly shot.
El Hadji Malick Diouf
Diouf also impressed against Bournemouth (Credit: Imago)
West Ham player ratings v Bournemouth
Alphonse Areola – 4
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5
Jean-Clair Todibo – 6
Nayef Aguerd – 7
Max Kilman – 6
El Hadji Malick Diouf – 8
Freddie Potts – 7
James Ward-Prowse – 5
Jarrod Bowen – 7
Lucas Paqueta – 6
Niclas Fullkrug – 8
Substitutes
Kyle Walker-Peters – 6
Guido Rodriguez – 7
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 6
Tomas Soucek – 6
Lewis Orford – 6
Andy Irving – 6
Oliver Scarles – 6
Callum Marshall – 6
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