West Ham United summer signing Niclas Füllkrug has been defended for his decision to come out and criticise Borussia Dortmund this week.
Sport 1 journalist Manfred Sedlbauer has been commenting on the striker today and says his comments this week were an attempt to rewrite the story around him.
Füllkrug joined West Ham in a €27m deal this summer after just one year with Dortmund following a €17.25m deal in August 2023.
The move came as something of a surprise given he had impressed for the Champions League finalists last season, scoring 15 goals and registering 10 assists in 43 games in total.
They were instead seemingly happy to move him on and take West Ham’s money, instead focusing on new signing Serhou Guirassy for the future.
That left Füllkrug feeling a little disappointed and he’s been biting back this week, insisting he was basically forced to leave Dortmund after the signing of Guirassy.
He, understandably, felt that showed a lack of trust and confidence in him, despite his impressive performances last season.
Thus he was forced to leave, although he clearly wanted his side of the story out in the public domain as Dortmund fans continue to debate the departure.
Sedlbauer believes that is perfectly understandable, explaining why Füllkrug has gone out of his way to share his stance in the media this week.
“It was apparently a very, very big concern for him,” he said.
“And to be honest, that’s a bit more understandable. Let’s go back to the second match-day of last season.
“He moved from Bremen to Borussia Dortmund and then scored 15 goals, contributed 10 assists and significantly improved the BVB season. Otherwise, this period would have been even worse.
“And the fans didn’t always 100% support him either. Of course, in the end everyone was sad when this identifying figure stood before the farewell and then left the club.
“But the whole season there were also critical voices again and again. And Niclas Füllkrug never felt fully appreciated.”
