Niclas Fullkrug opens up on his decision to join West Ham in this transfer window

In this summer transfer window, West Ham successfully managed to complete a lot of elite signings to address several key positions of the squad that needed reinforcements. One of them was the centre forward role, where the Hammers have struggled to bring a quality number nine in the recent seasons. Also, this summer the club wanted to sign a young forward to bolster their front three for the upcoming seasons in the Premier League. 

Thus, when the Hammers completed the signing of Borussia Dortmund star Niclas Fullkrug, the fans were left surprised and wondering as to the Hammers decided to bring in a 31-year-old forward instead. Moreover, Fullkrug also agreed to leave the UEFA Champions League runners up and joined West Ham, who haven't qualified to play European football this season. Now, the Germany international has opened up on his decision to arrive at the London Stadium despite a brilliant last season with Dortmund, saying,

Niclas Fullkrug opens up on his decision to join West Ham in this transfer window

"The decisive factor was the discussions with coach Julen Lopetegui. He immediately gave me the impression that he really wanted me and that I was needed."

- Niclas Fullkrug

Fullkrug highlighted that he was open to join a new team this summer in order to get more playing time as the first choice centre forward. That hasn't been the case at the beginning of this season, as manager Julen Lopetegui has started Michail Antonio in all four league matches and Fullkrug started only the Carabao Cup match against Bournemouth, before picking up an achilles injury during the international break. This made the centre forward unavailable for the Fulham match, and now he is recovering to become fully fit to face Chelsea in the next home fixture. 

Meanwhile, Danny Ings scored in the 1-1 draw with Fulham after coming as a second half substitute and looks highly likely to get more playing time in the Chelsea match. Now it remains to be seen whether manager Julen Lopetegui starts Niclas Fullkrug or Danny Ings as the centre forward in this massive home game.