When Niclas Füllkrug was brought to Dortmund, he was a popular figure in the Werder Bremen locker room and among fans. He was an effective goal-scorer with a strong hit rate of a goal every other match during his four years with the club.
The Hannover-born striker was brought in to compensate for the absence of Sébastian Haller due to his cancer, and BVB fans questioned the move at the time. The following season our new striker proved the critics wrong. Füllkrug regularly put in solid performances and did what was expected of him.
In simple terms, like Marmite what he turned out to be is exactly what it says on the outside of the pot with the yellow label, looks, and tastes like marmite, and is marmite. Love it or leave it, and we all feel differently about the black stuff, it is what it is and there is a lot to be said.
Twelve goals in 31 games during the 23/24 season and Füllkrug, who had a contract at the Westfalenstadion until 2026, was an integral part of the plans for the coming season. We had got used to him in the squad and his performances last season were more than enough to justify that trust.
Rumours about West Ham came out of nowhere. Füllkrug played a solid European Championship for Germany, and interest could be expected, even from the Premier League. But would he jump ship? BVB will be playing in the Champions League next season, and Füllkrug reached the final with them last season.
The prospects under the new coach, and former player, Nuri Sahin are good. Dortmund is a good place to be right now. And yet it happened very quickly and within two days, Füllkrug was on his way to the Premier League.
To put it bluntly, Borussen, as BVB fans are known, was left confused as to the motivation behind this move. The motivations? On the one hand, there’s the money. £27m is a lot of money for an ageing striker who came to Dortmund for 15 million last season.
Sebastian Kehl, our sporting director, has made some expensive signings this summer, not least Germany internationals Waldemar Anton and Serhou Guirassy both from VfB Stuttgart and they needed to recover some of the money. After a brush with bankruptcy in 2005, the club don’t spend more than they take in. It’s just how things are done and we like it that way.
Füllkrug himself did not speak about his motivation to leave, but in a modern football world where much of what happens appears stage-managed anyway, even a personality like Füllkrug, who by all accounts is a down-to-earth character is not likely to give much away. We are left guessing.
Is it the future sporting direction of BVB that perhaps doesn’t suit him? Or even the new coach that he doesn’t get on with? Or is it simply the dream most players in the Bundesliga have, that of playing in England?
The most obvious argument and one most of us can relate to, like Marmite, is money. English clubs pay far higher salaries. And yet, like most BVB fans, I don’t feel any bad blood whatsoever. The love for Füllkrug remains, it was short but sweet, it’s a shame because he is a good striker who was certainly part of coach Sahin’s previous plans.
He will have to realign those plans just like we do every season. What remains is to wish Niclas Füllkrug all the best in his new role. I might have written the story differently when it started out but as they say in Dortmund “Spieler kommen, Spieler gehen, Borussia bleibt bestehen” (the players come, the players go, Borussia remains).
I was at the London Stadium for our former striker’s debut against Celta Vigo, only 20,000 saw the game as a result of the boycott about the loss of the concessions, but for me it was memorable either way. Niclas follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Haller and Andrei Yarmolenko, what remains to say is thank you Fülle, and be lucky.
Fullkrug is capable of scoring a variety of goals, from typical poacher’s goals from within the six yard box to longer range goals from outside the box, he can also link up with midfielders coming through to create chances. His hold up play looks precise and clever that brings midfielders coming through the chance to go in on goal.
West Ham have players that are capable of linking well with him in that scenario, Kudus, Bowen and Summerville. West Ham also have players that can create chances for him, in particular Paqueta.
If I have any concerns it would be the demands at his age in terms of pace and physicality of the Premier League, especially as he hasn’t played outside of Germany before. However he has shown in the national team, especially at the home Euros this summer, he is more than a match for any opponent. If he can adjust to the league, he could have a solid impact at West Ham.
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