A second source has now backed the possibility of West Ham United moving to sign a striker who they apparently failed with a summer bid for.
West Ham criticised for signing Fullkrug
Niclas Füllkrug remains out with an Achilles tendon injury that has kept him on the sidelines since early September, and West Ham have been questioned for their decision to bring the crocked Germany international to east London.
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The tables have now turned.
The 31-year-old, who is slowly approaching his twilight years, apparently has a bad fitness record overall – with former West Ham scout Mick Brown criticising the club’s decision to strike a £27 million deal for Fullkrug.
“He had a few issues during his time in Germany with his fitness,” he told Football Insider.
“That, I’ve heard, played a part in the reason Dortmund were keen to let him go. So if that was an issue, and it was known in Germany, you’ve got to ask serious questions about why it was overlooked by West Ham.
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West Ham’s next five Premier League matches |
Date |
|---|---|
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Leicester City (away) |
December 3 |
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Wolves (home) |
December 9 |
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Bournemouth (away) |
December 16 |
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Brighton (home) |
December 21 |
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Southampton (away) |
December 26 |
“Paying almost £30million for a 31-year-old is always risky, but spending that money on a player with fitness issues at that age is a huge problem. Of course, you can never predict that a player might pick up an injury. These things happen.
“But if he’s missing longer than expected because of his fitness, that’s something you should know. West Ham should have known about any issues with his fitness before they signed him.
“Then, you either don’t move forward with the deal or you take steps to help the situation, help him with his fitness and his recovery. If he’s having these types of fitness and recovery issues at 31, it’s not likely to get much better, but they gave him a four-year contract.”
Fullkrug’s absence has left Lopetegui bereft of a prolific striker who can help to solve West Ham’s goalscoring problems, with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings the sole No 9s at their disposal right now.
This has prompted West Ham to explore the January market for a new frontman who can consistently deliver the goods in an attacking sense.
Second source backs West Ham move for Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze
Earlier this week, reports out of Spain shared information that West Ham had reignited their interest in Georges Mikautadze.
Interestingly, Alexis Bernard and le10sport claimed that West Ham made a bid for Mikautadze in the summer, with another move for the Georgia international now gaining more traction ahead of January.
Massimo Pavan, writing in a piece for TuttoJuve, emerges as the second source in these last few days to claim that West Ham are emerging as a potential destination for Mikautadze – who dazzled at Euro 2024 and finished the tournament as the joint-top goalscorer with three.
The former Metz star scored in every group game, and the Irons could look to take advantage of Lyon’s financial situation by snapping him up in the winter.
It is also worth noting that the 24-year-old has 86 career club goals to his name at a pretty young age, and a further 16 for Georgia at international level – taking his overall tally to 102.