West Ham signed centre forward Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund in this transfer window. While involved in negotiations with Aston Villa in order to sign Jhon Duran, this move surprised several West Ham fans and Premier League analysts due to the huge difference in the two players. Duran is a young forward with blistering pace and physicality, who can become one of the best forwards in the Premier League in the upcoming seasons.
On the other hand, Fullkrug is 31-years-old and doesn't have much pace, but is a reliable goal scorer after his impressive displays in the Bundesliga. The experienced forward scored fifteen goals for Borussia Dortmund last season and reached the UEFA Champions League final as well. Now, speaking to Waz, Fullkrug revealed his dream of playing UEFA Champions League with West Ham, saying,
Niclas Fullkrug reveals his UEFA Champions League ambition
"My goal is to get back to where I came from."Niclas Fullkrug
In the semi final of the Champions League, Fullkrug scored the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain that led Dortmund to reach their first Champions League final after eleven years. Although, he didn't win the final in Wembley, Fullkrug has expressed his goal to play in the Champions League during his stay at West Ham, which is an ambitious dream at the club. However, Niclas Fullkrug hasn't had a great start to his West Ham career as he had only started once for Julen Lopetegui's side, which came in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Still, Fullkrug is an elite forward and he needs more playing time to score more goals for West Ham. In the three league matches, Michail Antonio has started as the centre forward, but has struggled to adapt to Lopetegui's tactical setup. Hence, after the international break, Lopetegui should start playing Fullkrug as the number nine in the Premier League, which will provide more quality to the Hammers attack.