West Ham faced a 2-1 defeat in their opening Premier League match against Aston Villa. While the defence was again lacklustre, one of Lopetegui's starting lineup decisions was surprising. In this transfer window, West Ham needed a new striker to score more goals in the next season.
Therefore, the Hammers were interested in signing Aston Villa star Jhon Duran as a new number nine this summer. However, Aston Villa rejected West Ham's offer that led to the Hammers signing Borussia Dortmund centre forward Niclas Fullkrug. Thus, it was expected that the 32-year-old will be the starting striker for Julen Lopetegui's side this season.
Niclas Fullkrug opens up on coming as a second half substitute against Aston Villa
However, eyebrows were raised by a large section of West Ham fans when it was revealed that Michail Antonio would be the starting striker in the Aston Villa match instead of Niclas Fullkrug. Antonio played around 75 minutes in the match and was often slow on the ball. Further, he wasn't involved much in the build up play and had a few heavy touches on the ball inside the final third.
Overall, it was clear that Fullkrug should be the first choice forward for West Ham. Coming as a second half substitute with fifteen minutes remaining in the match, Fullkrug put in a decent performance. He won several aerial duels and was brilliant in his build up play while trying to find a goal to level the game.
After the match, Fullkrug opened up on his second half substitute appearance, saying,
"I’ve only been in training for a week and a half. So, it’s okay for today.Niclas Fullkrug
But of course, ultimately, it’s going to come down to the fact that I want to play, and that’s clear. That’s my ambition, that’s the reason why I’m here, why I’ve set the Premier League as my goal."
⚒️💬 Niclas #Füllkrug reflects on the 1-2 loss in his 17-minute debut for West Ham vs Aston Villa, via Sky: ⤵️
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 18, 2024
"I’ve only been in training for a week and a half. Before that was the Euros, then a break, and after that, I was first at Borussia Dortmund, and then there was the… pic.twitter.com/MSzz7EPcZR
Hence, it becomes more clear that manager Julen Lopetegui should start Fullkrug as the centre forward in this season. Further, new signings Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka should start for West Ham from the next game to improve the defence.