It is perhaps not breaking any fresh ground to suggest that Niklas Füllkrug’s heart was not in it when he went to West Ham United in 2024.
The striker was at the peak of his powers at that point, having guided Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final that season with 15 goals in all competitions.
He’d then followed that up by shining for Germany at the Euros, scoring against Scotland and Switzerland as they reached the quarter-finals of that tournament.
West Ham then brought him to the Premier League, believing that they had finally secured the top-level striker they’ve spent most of the last 20 years looking for.
West Ham misery
It was not to be, though. Füllkrug would go on to manage just three goals in 29 games for West Ham, as injuries completely ruined his time at the club.
He spent most of his time at the London Stadium out injured, missing 167 days in 2024/24 with two separate injuries that saw him miss 27 games in total. 2025/26 then saw him spend another 54 days out via three injuries, adding to his injury woes.
Now he’s back at former club Werder Bremen on loan, after taking a wage cut just to get back to the German club.
That decision has paid off as he’s scored three goals in four games in the Bundesliga so far, added another in the DFB Cup and put himself in sight of a return to the German national team as well.
| Club | Years | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Werder Bremen II | 2011–2013 | 26 | 10 |
| Werder Bremen — first spell | 2011–2014 | 25 | 3 |
| Greuther Fürth — loan | 2013–2014 | 24 | 6 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2014–2016 | 59 | 18 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | 2015–2016 | 1 | 0 |
| Hannover 96 | 2016–2019 | 80 | 24 |
| Werder Bremen — second spell | 2019–2023 | 99 | 46 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 2023–2024 | 43 | 15 |
| West Ham United | 2024–present | 29 | 3 |
| AC Milan — loan | 2026 | 20 | 1 |
| Werder Bremen — third spell, loan | 2026–present | 5 | 4 |
| Total | Senior club career | 411 | 130 |
| Competitive senior club matches across all competitions, including substitute appearances, relegation play-offs and senior reserve-team matches. Excludes youth and international matches. Loan appearances are listed under the borrowing club. Figures checked on 8 October 2026. |
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Werder Bremen love
He’s loving life back at a club he openly admits is like home to him. Now he has hinted that, in reality, his heart was never with West Ham.
He admitted to RND that he knows of no club “that offers a better environment than Werder Bremen”. And then he hinted he didn’t get that at other clubs.
“If, as a player, you allow yourself to feel a special emotional connection to a club, it becomes harder to feel those same emotions elsewhere. That is something I’ve experienced over the last few years,” he added.
