Experiencing a bitter phase

DFB team player frustrated: “Fucked up to the max!”

The Premier League adventure is not yet going according to plan for Niclas Füllkrug (left).(Bild: AFP/APA/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Since his move to West Ham United after the home European Championship, DFB international Niclas Füllkrug has experienced a time to forget. Things are not going according to plan for him and his club in the Premier League. "It's been absolutely shite," complains the striker, who has also been set back by injury. Can he now turn things around?

Füllkrug has not yet made it into West Ham's starting eleven in the current Premier League season. The German has been substituted five times, scoring one goal in the process. Not what he and the club expected when they agreed to work together after the European Championship in the summer. 

The Londoners put 27 million euros on the table to prise the DFB international away from BVB. "Of course, I also had very intensive talks about such a risky move. Because I knew I was taking a step deeper and a certain risk that I wouldn't play internationally next year, maybe not the following year either, and would make a big, big move," the cult footballer explained on the "Copa TS" podcast. 

Will Füllkrug turn things around with West Ham?
A risky move that has not yet been rewarded. Also because Achilles tendinitis put Füllkrug out of action for three months. He has now been back in team training for two weeks and is waiting for a fresh start. "This phase is catastrophic. You just want to play and have the feeling you're close, but then there's another setback," said the frustrated 31-year-old.

But the German doesn't want to think about failure. Instead, he wants to prove himself and help his club out of the crisis. The Londoners are currently in 14th place and therefore well behind their ambitions of playing internationally. A fit Füllkrug who reaches his top level could certainly be a decisive factor here.