The Niclas Fullkrug recriminations rumble on. West Ham’s £27.5 million summer signing (instead of Jhon Duran) is rumoured to be a Tim Steidten pick. Beset by fitness issues before he has even made a full West Ham debut, Fullkrug was known across Germany to be a ‘super sub’ rather than a full-on 90 minute player.

It has now turned out that -apparently – part of the reason his previous club Borussia Dortmund let him go was his known fitness issue. Accordingly, Mick Brown, former Hammers Scout under Moyes, told Footballinsider 247 that “fitness levels were part of the reason the German was sold in the summer.”

With Fullkrug still unfit, and still with no news regarding a resumption of any form of training, West Ham head coach Lopetegui must be pulling his hair out having to rely on the ageing duo of Ings and Antonio. The challenges facing the Spaniard are enough without Fullkrug’s troublesome calf or Achilles- depending on which report you believe – still keeping him out since he ‘damaged ‘it on international duty for Germany in September.

Quite what kind of due diligence West Ham did before parting with big money for Fullkrug needs to be published – even a cursory check shows mammoth problems in his career with ACL and calf injuries seemingly dogging his appearances: A quick glance at transfermarkt.com itself shows the huge number of days the player has missed in his career.

Nearly two years out injured

A total of six hundred and forty three days out injured since 2019/19 – including the 44 days at West Ham this season.

It is by no means Fullkrug alone – of course many players have long periods out and it doesn’t make them less successful after recovery. But a prolonged period out before even making his debut begs the questions – when will he be fit, and were West Ham asking the right questions of Dortmund before committing to buy? If Mick Brown is to be believed then part of the reason they parted with him was injury related.

I’m not naive enough to suggest he wasn’t subject to a full medical screening process but – did we leap in when we’ve turned down others such as Tammy Abraham over ‘known’ ACL issues?

Are we being wise after the event or did we jump too fast to buy ‘someone’ after the Duran cock-up?