Forget Antony & Mudryk; Niclas Fullkrug is the Premier League’s worst ever signing | OneFootball

Even by West Ham‘s usual standards in the transfer market, Niclas Fullkrug has been something else.

Thought to be the brainchild of Technical Director Tim Steidten, Fullkrug was signed for £27million from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024. He was already 31 and the deal always whiffed stronger than Blue Cheese.

The Hammers have always had the opposite of the Midas Touch when it comes to signing strikers, but handing Fullkrug a four-year deal caused a pandemic of raised eyebrows across Premier League boardrooms.

The Big F*ckin’ German, as he was briefly christened by supporters, has scored just three goals in 28 games for the club, and is slinking out on loan to AC Milan.

His only memorable contribution was a scathing interview after last season’s 1-1 draw with Southampton, calling his team-mates ‘sh*t’ and suffering the indignity of a public slapdown from Graham Potter.

Meanwhile, Steidten left his job in January 2025. He is lucky to avoid a custodial sentence for the Fullkrug deal.

While it says much about modern football economics that a failed West Ham striker can move to a genuine European giant, albeit one in relative distress, other verdicts are even more damning.

In fact, forget Antony, Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Pepe; Fullkrug is arguably the worst transfer in Premier League history.

While the Hammers are cash-rich in global terms, they cannot afford to write off failed signings in the same manner as the Premier League elite.

Manchester United received £21.6million for Antony and have bought several expensive forwards to replace him. Chelsea have signed a whole squad of wingers to supplant Mudryk.

While Arsenal simply gave Pepe a free transfer, paying off the final year of his contract. These options aren’t realistically available to West Ham.

So Fullkrug’s loan deal to Milan involves no obligatory buy clause and is only for six months.

He’ll return to East London in the summer, tail firmly between legs, with little resale value and West Ham likely to be a Championship club.

The Germany international – although his humbling Premier League spell now threatens that status – will probably find Serie A’s slower pace more suited to his spaghetti limbs.

West Ham quickly need to find a replacement in the January window. The latest rumours are that they are in talks with Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Strand Larsen would be another typical Sullivan purchase, bought from the relegation cesspit on a lengthy contract with no thought of how he might actually fit into the team.

West Ham’s entire method appears to be last-minute shopping from distressed clubs, once they have been relegated (or effectively relegated in Wolves’ case).

Lessons are stubbornly not being learnt. You fear for several Championship forwards whose careers will be ruined by the Hammers next season.

In an era where top-flight scouting is sophisticated and youngsters are prioritised, the punt on Fullkrug was something from a bygone era where major tournaments acted as shopping channels.

This was the most obvious flop in years and West Ham will feel the effects long after the German’s permanent departure.

Fullkrug is the poster boy for a club still operating in the long 2000s. With all the context, he is the worst signing in Premier League history.