West Ham United turn to Alex Sorloth amid Niclas Fullkrug fears

West Ham United turn to signing Alex Sorloth as Niclas Fullkrug injury fears grow

Analyzing Alexander Sørloth: Will Atlético's new 9 make the difference? - Into the Calderon

West Ham United are in the hunt to sign Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth amid growing concerns about Niclas Fullkrug’s fitness, according to the Sunday Mirror.

The newspaper reported via their print edition on Sunday (13 October, pg 74) that the Irons are still monitoring the Norway international after initially showing interest in him in the summer.

Hammers scouts were in attendance as the 28-year-old netted in Norway’s 3-0 win against Slovenia on Thursday (10 October).

This comes amid increasing fears about summer signing Fullkrug, who is currently sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury.

West Ham United turn to Alex Sorloth amid Niclas Fullkrug fears

West Ham signed Fullkrug after Sorloth snubbed them to join Atletico Madrid from Villarreal in August.

With the German striker playing just 63 minutes of Premier League football this season, it is understandable the Irons have rekindled their interest in Sorloth.

Sorloth has scored one goal and provided two assists from nine La Liga games (six starts) for Atletico this season.

However, West Ham’s renewed interest in the striker suggests that the East London outfit might have received encouragement from the player’s camp.

At 28, Sorloth is at his prime, while all three of Julen Lopetegui’s strikers – Fullkrug, Michail Antonio and Danny Ings are in their 30s.

Analyzing Alexander Sørloth: Will Atlético's new 9 make the difference? - Into the Calderon

The Hammers will definitely benefit from Sorloth’s addition, with their frontmen netting just two goals between them across competitions this term.

Sorloth will also have a point to prove in the Premier League as he had little success during his two-year spell at Crystal Palace between 2018 and 2020.

In other West Ham news, Thomas Frank has been mooted as a potential manager if Lopetegui is sacked.

Reports suggest the Irons are due compensation from the FIFA Club Protection Programme [Sean Whetstone, 2 October], but Plumley insists that may not solve all of the Hammers’ issues.

“It gets a little bit technical,” Plumley exclusively told West Ham Zone.

“It will cover part of the wages is the summary answer and what happens here is, clubs are compensated based on the player’s fixed salary for a maximum of 365 days, but it’s calculated on a daily pro-rata basis up to a maximum of £7.5million per injury.

“Crucially, compensation is not payable for the first 28 days of injury, so if it’s a minor injury that’s not covered, so that’s why it will kick in after the 28-day period.