Niklas Fullkrug has turned down a new contract at Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen with Premier League duo Everton and West Ham United keeping tabs on his situation.
In the first Bundesliga season post-Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, the battle for the Golden Boot was always likely to be less of a two-horse race and something more akin to the Grand National, competitors from up and down the land throwing their hat into the ring.
And, in the end, nothing could separate Christopher Nkunku and Niklas Fullkrug; both players finishing joint-top of the charts with 16 goals apiece.
That was Fullkrug’s best-ever Bundesliga return. Form which earned him the number nine spot for Germany ahead of the Qatar World Cup, while catching the eye of Everton, West Ham United, Bayer Leverkusen, Fiorentina and more (BILD).
Everton and West Ham could move for Niklas Fullkrug
And, at the age of 30, a late-blooming centre-forward who has spent much of his career bouncing between the first and second divisions will know that such an opportunity may not come around again, especially with Werder Bremen’s £17 million asking price making him something of a bargain in a highly-inflated market.
Fullkrug, according to Kicker, has turned down a new contract at the Weser Stadium. And a cash-strapped, debt-hit Werder side cannot go much further in their attempts to tie down the burly battering ram.
“We can only move within the economic framework that we can afford,” sighs director Clemens Fritz. “We want to extend Niklas, otherwise we wouldn’t have made him the offer.
“(Werder Bremen) also clearly communicated that we want to keep him.”
Doing so, however, may be beyond a side who, should they cash in on Fullkrug, would go a long way to solving their financial issues.
Fullkrug is exactly the type of physical, old-school number nine Everton boss Sean Dyche tends to get the best out of, while David Moyes may still opt to move on Gianluca Scamacca after a frustrating debut season at West Ham.
Everton are in negotiations with Almeria for El Bilal Toure. Fullkrug, however, would set the Toffees back just half of Toure’s £34 million price-tag.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
