Niclas Füllkrug has barely made a mark at AC Milan since joining from West Ham on loan. Despite that, he could still get another opportunity in Italy.
Spor tWitness covered the loan to the San Siro extensively towards the end of December. It came at a point when Milan were desperate for a striker signing, as their entire attack was misfiring and they badly needed additions.
Despite initial promise, the German has failed. He has just one league goal, missing a vital penalty against Pisa some weeks ago.
He isn’t starting games either, with Max Allegri often preferring Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao together upfront.
Füllkrug return to West Ham feels certain but the Hammers may already have a suitor.
Fiorentina now keen
Calciomercato IT make it clear that Milan will not exercise their option to buy the German permanently. That clause stands at only €5m but the Rossoneri would rather spend that on a younger player.
Hope is not lost, as Fabio Paratici is keen on the Germany international. Fiorentina are among the teams interested in the striker, with the Italian director already readying an attempt to sign him in the summer.
La Viola’s aim is to sign an experienced striker and this is playing in the 33-year-old’s favour this time around.
Fiorentina can lose both Roberto Piccoli and Moise Kean in the summer and would then sign a younger striker. As a result, they view Füllkrug as a ‘mother hen’ who can help the younger striker develop into a better player.
Our take: Situation favouring West Ham
The way things are going for the ex-Borussia Dortmund man, one would expect his stock to fall more than it has. Luckily for West Ham, there still seems to be hope that they can find a suitor and potentially execute a deal.
Teams in Germany could yet be keen on the player, whose agent is already working to find a new club.
West Ham can use that to drum up interest and then seek the best possible deal in the summer.
