This farewell has been foreshadowed for days. After just one season, Niclas Füllkrug is leaving Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. His new club plays its home games in London.
05.08.2024, 18:30
dpa
German international Niclas Füllkrug is moving from Borussia Dortmund to West Ham United in England. The 31-year-old striker has signed a contract until 2028, as announced by the English Premier League club. The transfer had been hinted at for days - Füllkrug is leaving BVB after just one season.
"I'm delighted to be here and can't wait to get out on the pitch with my new teammates," said Füllkrug, according to a statement from his new club. "I think the Premier League is the best league in the world and it's the right time for me to move to England and play for a big club like West Ham."
Füllkrug had already left the BVB training camp in Bad Ragaz on Saturday morning. Neither club gave any details of the transfer fee, although media reports put it at around 30 million euros.
BVB did not want to sell Füllkrug
New BVB coach Nuri Sahin had actually made it clear that Füllkrug would play a central role in his plans. However, Dortmund had also signed Serhou Guirassy from VfB Stuttgart this summer, who, like Füllkrug, plays in the center of the attack.
"Niclas is a great player and a really good guy who identified extremely quickly with BVB. It was not our plan to sell him this summer. In view of an exceptional offer and his personal desire to take the opportunity of a long-term contract in the Premier League, we nevertheless decided to agree to the transfer," said BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
Only two center forwards left?
According to reports, BVB are already looking for a successor to Füllkrug. The departure of 19-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko has also been hinted at. His advisor had publicly complained about the teenager's reserve role. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Moukoko is being drawn to Olympique Marseille. OSC Lille are also said to be interested.
Sébastien Haller (30) is also in the BVB squad as a classic center forward. BVB are said to be increasingly interested in signing international Maximilian Beier (21) from TSG Hoffenheim.
Füllkrug only moved to Dortmund from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2023 and had signed a contract until June 30, 2026. He reached the Champions League final with BVB last season and scored twelve goals in the Bundesliga. West Ham finished ninth last season and will not play internationally in 2024/25. The English club's coach since this summer is the Spaniard Julen Lopetegui.
