David Sullivan must be having a laugh at West Ham as details of Niclas Fullkrug exit emerge
David Sullivan and Co. will struggle to argue that Niclas Fullkrug was ever a smart signing, as the striker appears set to leave West Ham already.
Fullkrug’s move to AC Milan could be announced within days, just 18 months on from signing for the Hammers in a £27million deal. It was a huge amount of money spent on the 31-year-old.
Alongside his signing of Luis Guilherme, Tim Steidten continues to haunt West Ham with his foolish scouting missions, highlighted even more by Fullkrug’s depressing spell in East London.
He made just 29 appearances for the Hammers, netting three goals, all of which came last season, now leaving Nuno Espirito Santo very few options in the centre-forward position.
Callum Wilson has been a bright spark for Nuno, but given his injury record in the past, it is not sustainable to start the former Newcastle United man in every Premier League game.
West Ham have tried to twist Niclas Fullkrug’s exit into a positive
The former Nottingham Forest boss is now yet another striker down, with plans clearly being forged ahead of the transfer window, but Sullivan must be embarrassed by the emerging news about Fullkrug.
According to Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg (23 December), Fullkrug’s move to AC Milan is a done deal, with an option to buy of £4.3million (€5million) in the summer transfer window.
It is understood that, with just over £1.1million (€1.3million) being saved in net wages, the Hammers are viewing the January loan deal as “solid business”, just 18 months after signing him for £27million.
Eyebrows were raised when the Premier League side signed an ageing striker, and a mediocre one at that, for so much money, but the club are now trying to spin his exit into a positive.
David Sullivan must take responsibility for West Ham’s failures
Very few supporters will be surprised to see the German centre-forward leaving so soon. However, for the Hammers to try and claim this as “solid business,” the owners must be completely delusional.
Sure, the saved money can be reinvested in a much-needed striker next month, but had the £27m not been spent on a total experiment, none of this would be an issue for the relegation-threatened side.
The full focus right now should be on trying to pull away from the dropzone in the second half of the campaign, but the main news recently has been all about the striker’s failures and impending exit.
While it was ultimately Steidten who brought him to the club, Sullivan needs to take responsibility for allowing it to happen and not try to paper over the cracks with forced positivity.