West Ham United striker Niclas Füllkrug has insisted his price tag will not weigh him down, and he instead sees it as a huge sign of faith from the club.
Füllkrug has been speaking to DeichStube about various topics, which naturally meant a conversation about his move to West Ham this summer.
He joined them in a €27m deal at the beginning of August after a superb one-year stay at Borussia Dortmund in which he shone and reached the Champions League final.
They elected to reshape the squad in the summer transfer window and bring in several strikers, leading Füllkrug to move on and eventually join West Ham.
Dortmund didn’t let him depart on the cheap, though, bringing in €27m for the striker, a smart piece of business given he cost €17.25m to sign from Werder Bremen the year before.
He proved to be excellent value for money, but eyebrows were certainly raised by West Ham’s decision to spend so much on him given he is 31 years old and has never played outside of Germany.
Füllkrug isn’t feeling any pressure from that price tag, though, and instead sees it as a massive sign of confidence in him.
“Well, I think it was a few more (than €27m). But no, in the end that doesn’t affect me,” he said.
“It’s just the market that is. The sum is of course gigantic. It is of course also a gigantic appreciation from the club, from Tim, who you also know, from Tim Steidten. Which was of course one or the decisive reason why I ended up dealing with West Ham.
“That he was the one who sought contact, and I also had access to him, and he also had access to me, and we knew each other and were much, much more familiar with each other through the discussions. And he just showed me everything. In the end it was clear that it was of course not necessary.
“BVB didn’t have to let me go. They would have liked to have started the season with two top strikers, as they openly communicated. And that’s why a certain amount was necessary in the end. And that’s just how it is. This is the Premier League; this is England, and they are capable of doing things like that.”
