West Ham star admits ‘risky’ £23m summer move HASN’T worked – after playing just five times in four months due to ‘catastrophic’ injury

A West Ham summer signing has admitted that his move to the club is not working out, just four months after signing.

The player in question joined the Hammers in a £23million move in August as Julen Lopetegui looked to reinforce his attacking ranks.

However, the forward has been plagued by injuries since his arrival, limiting him to just five appearances so far this term.

With only one goal to his name, Niclas Fullkrug did not mince words when assessing how things are going in the Premier League.

‘Absolutely awful,’ he told the Copa TS podcast. 

‘Of course, I also had very intensive discussions about such a risky step – because I knew that I was taking a step deeper and taking a certain risk that I wouldn’t play internationally (in Europe) next year, maybe not the year after that either, and that I would make a big, big change.

His slow start is only one of a litany of concerns for under-pressure boss Julen Lopetegui

Fullkrug led the line for Dortmund in last season’s Champions League final against Real Madrid

‘I was aware of that, I communicated a lot with the coach, spoke a lot with Tim Steidten, who I know from my time at Bremen, which is how we got in touch so closely.

‘Of course, we had completely different goals. Things were going really badly for me too, to put it bluntly.’

Fullkrug’s signing was met with a fair deal of excitement in east London, with Hammers fans initially hopeful the 31-year-old could replicate his prolific Bundesliga form in claret and blue.

But it has been anything but plain sailing for West Ham’s new frontman, who has seen his debut season consistently hampered by fitness woes.

He added: ‘I was injured for three months and didn’t even reach my top performance because I’ve only been training for a week and a half.

‘It seemed like I was back at a good level relatively quickly because I came in and scored the goal.

‘My achilles tendon was inflamed and it was really annoying.

‘I’ve had something like that before, it lasted six weeks, now it’s taken a bit longer and this phase is catastrophic.

‘You just want to play and you feel like you’re close, but then there’s another setback.’