West Ham seal blockbuster deal for Füllkrug: "The time is right for me to move to England."
Dortmund have secured a lucrative deal for the 31-year-old they paid a reported €13 million for less than a year ago.
London's West Ham United officially unveiled Niclas Füllkrug as a new signing on Monday evening. The 31-year-old moves abroad for the first time in his career after spending just one eason with Borussia Dortmund. Essentially all German footballing media sources are confirming a base-transfer-fee of €27 million for the German national team striker. An additional €5 million may flow into the BVB coffers if certain performance-based incentives are met.
"Niclas is a great player and a really good guy who identified himself with BVB extremely quickly," BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl noted in a statement on the club's website, "It was not our plan to let him go this summer. Due to an exceptional offer and his personal desire to take the opportunity of a long-term contract in the Premier League, we nevertheless decided to agree to the transfer."
“I’m delighted to be here, and I can’t wait to get out on the pitch with my new teammates,” Füllkrug added in a statement on West Ham's website, “I think the Premier League is the best league in the world, and for me it is the right time to move over to England and play for a big Club like West Ham."
“I have been thinking about West Ham for a long time now," Füllkrug's statement continues, “I know the Technical Director Tim Steidten very well, because we have history at Werder Bremen together, and I have watched some games and seen how much quality there is in the team.”