West Ham Flop Seen As ‘Highly Sought After’ By Club | OneFootball

Julian Finney/Getty Images

West Ham United striker Niclas Fullkrug is ‘highly sought after’ by Italian side Venezia, who are plotting a summer swoop.

Fullkrug has struggled to make an impression at West Ham and the Hammers loaned him out to AC Milan in January with an option to buy.

After securing the move to the San Siro, Fullkrug revealed that his decision had nothing to do with the upcoming World Cup and he would have switched regardless.

At AC Milan, Fullkrug has featured regularly, but goals have still been hard to come by for the German.

In 19 Serie A appearances, the West Ham hitman has scored just one goal and AC Milan will not trigger the option to buy, meaning he will be back at the London Stadium this summer.

However, the Hammers have already deemed him surplus to requirements, and with a big question mark hanging over West Ham’s Premier League future, he could be one of the earliest casualties.

Fullkrug could well have an opportunity to head back to Italy quickly as Venezia want him.

Venezia have just won the Serie B title and consider Fullkrug to be ‘highly sought after’ in their transfer window plans, according to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Italian side will need to reach an agreement with West Ham and though it has been suggested they could rip up his contract, any prospect they can earn a fee from his exit will be attractive.

Offloading Fullkrug will get his wages off the bill at West Ham permanently, something which could well be badly needed this summer.

Venezia will not have it all their own way as they chase Fullkrug though.

The German has emerged as an option for clubs in the MLS, while he has also been looked at by Wolfsburg.

In total, Fullkrug has made just 29 appearances for West Ham since he joined the club, hitting the back of the net three times and his underperformance is symbolic of the Hammers’ lacklustre work in the transfer market in recent seasons.