Niklas Füllkrug has no intention of leaving West Ham United in the January transfer window, despite reports to the contrary.
That’s according to journalist Florian Plettenberg, who has added further detail to a report on Friday night regarding Füllkrug’s future at the London Stadium.
The striker joined the Hammers in a €27m move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and was supposed to be their new, star striker this season.
Instead, he has barely featured for Julen Lopetegui’s side as persistent injury issues have limited his minutes on the pitch.
That had led to reports West Ham and Lopetegui had given up on the 31-year-old and would be looking for a new striker in the January transfer window to replace him.
Plettenberg disputed that on Friday evening, reporting that neither West Ham nor Füllkrug wanted to end their short relationship yet and the striker was instead focused on returning from an Achilles issue that has plagued him this season.
He’s now added more detail to that on Sky Sport Germany’s Transfer Update show, where he explained what’s going on and why reports of an exit are wide of the mark.
“We can say the most important thing first, Niklas Füllkrug has no intention of moving at all,” he said.
“He wants to stay in the winter, he wants to assert himself, he wants to fulfil his big dream of playing in the Premier League, of scoring goals on the island, that is his big goal.
“But it must be mentioned that these Achilles problems that he has, which he unfortunately contracted, are really persistent, they hurt, and he is working on his comeback
“He is working on it intensively, we have the information that in the next few days, 5, 6, 7, 8 days, he should return to the pitch properly and then the plan is that after the upcoming international matches in mid-November he will be back in the West Ham squad.
“So, the clear trend is that Niklas Füllkrug will stay at West Ham in the winter, but whether they will sign another striker is still an open question.”
