Football transfer watch: AC Milan sign Fullkrug on loan from West Ham

Milan, Jan 2 (IANS) AC Milan have made a high-profile move on the opening day of the Italian winter transfer window, securing West Ham United forward Niclas Fullkrug on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent.

The seven-time UEFA Champions League winners have an option to buy the 32-year-old German international player for a reported 5 million euros at the end of the season.

The West Ham forward had already started training with AC Milan players at the end of the year. Fullkrug could make his debut for the club soon. Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri also confirmed that he would be included on the bench for Friday’s Serie A match against Cagliari.

The German striker has struggled with form and fitness and scored just three goals in 29 appearances for the West Ham club.

The past one and a half years didnt go as I, and sure you all, had imagined. I want to thank you for your support, even when things werent always easy. There are truly special people at WHU, and I am very grateful for everyone I met and the relationships I was able to build. Wishing you all the best for the rest of the season, Fullkrug wrote on Instagram, thanking all the West Ham fans.

Born in Hanover, Germany, in February 1993, Fullkrug came through the Werder Bremen youth academy and spent his early playing career in Germany, featuring for Greuther Furth, Nurnberg, and Hannover 96 before returning to Werder Bremen in 2019.

In the summer of 2023, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he made 42 appearances and scored 15 goals in a single season, three of them in the Champions League, a competition in which he also started in the final against Real Madrid.

After his spell with Borussia, the German striker made the switch to the Premier League, joining West Ham United. In November 2022, Fullkrug earned his first call-up to the senior national team and was included in Germany squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

--IANS

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