West Ham eye move for Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug

West Ham United are ramping up their efforts to sign a new striker this summer and have set their sights on Borrusia Dortmund star Niclas Fullkrug.

According to Sky Sports, the German striker has emerged as a priority for the Hammers, who have grown weary in their pursuit of Aston Villa ace Jhon Duran.

Villa have already rejected two bids from the Irons that fall below their £40 million valuation of the Colombian striker.

Duran has expressed his desire to join the Hammers, but the club is unwilling to meet Villa’s excessive demands and have decided to move on to other targets.

Signing a striker is considered a priority for West Ham, with Julen Lopetegui eager to bolster his attacking options before the start of the new season.

While the club have set their sights on Fullkrug, there’s still plenty of work to be done before an agreement between all parties can be reached.

Sky Sports reports that there is a big gap in valuation between what the Hammers are willing to pay and what Dortmund will accept, so both clubs need to find common ground on a transfer fee.

The Bundesliga giants only signed Fullkrug last summer from Werder Bremen in a deal worth £14.3 million.

Despite an electrifying debut campaign at Signal Iduna Park, the 31-year-old is now valued at £12.6m on Transfermarkt, and Dortmund would want to recoup their initial investment in the striker.

Fullkrug is a better value-for-money target than Duran

Duran isn’t worth close to Villa’s £40m demands, but Fullkrug could be an exciting addition if we can pull off a deal in the coming weeks.

The German was a standout player for Dortmund last season, bagging 16 goals and ten assists in 46 appearances across all competitions.

He carried his exceptional form to this summer’s European Championship, netting twice in Germany’s run to the quarter-final despite coming off the bench in all five appearances.

Fullkrug may be on the other side of 30, but he’s a traditional, old-school striker with plenty of European experience and is a proven goalscorer.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com