Alphonse Areola reacts to new Niclas Fullkrug message at West Ham camp
Alphonse Areola has responded to striker Niclas Fullkrug’s post ahead of a career-defining season for Graham Potter at West Ham.
Last season was a nightmare for West Ham as they finished 14th in the table with 17 losses across the campaign.
It was a year overshadowed by Julen Lopetegui’s sacking midway through the season with his tactics proving ineffective in the Premier League.
His exit paved the way for former Chelsea and Brighton boss Potter to join the Hammers as he seeks to get his managerial career back on track.
There wasn’t much else to cheer about for West Ham fans following the managerial changeover. However, with a full pre-season under his belt, Potter will be looking to kick on next year in the Premier League.
One of the players eager to prove his worth after his £22.4million move from Borussia Dortmund is Fullkrug, who endured a torrid first season in east London.
Fullkrug looks to bounce back under Graham Potter at West Ham
In a post on Instagram (25 July) captioned “Opening session across the pond!”, Fullkrug posted a photo of him in training, raring to go as West Ham take on Man United in the Premier League Summer Series.
The former Werder Bremen forward struggled with injury last season, playing 788 minutes in 18 matches in the league, only scoring three times.
The message was liked by keeper Areola, who also found last season difficult, losing his place to Lukasz Fabianski on a handful of occasions.
Areola and Fullkrug key to Hammers
Football Insider verdict
With the departures of Fabianski in net and the sale of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham, the Hammers are light at both ends of the pitch.
West Ham were awful defensively last season with their 62 goals conceded only beaten by the sides in the bottom five of the table.
Onus will be on Areola to step up under Potter and show the manager why they shouldn’t need to buy another first-choice keeper in the transfer market.
For Fullkrug, he’s been given a lifeline to kickstart his Hammers career after a tough debut season.
As of now, it appears that the German will partner the ever-reliable Jarrod Bowen up top due to the shortage of striking options.
Danny Ings’ contract expired this summer, suggesting that Potter and the West Ham hierarchy believe Fullkrug has what it takes to lead the line next season.
It would be likely that the east London side dip into the market before the end of the summer transfer window, but the ex-Dortmund man must act faster to cement his position as West Ham’s frontman.