Niclas Füllkrug

1. FC Nürnberg In 2014, Füllkrug joined 1. FC Nürnberg permanently having agreed a "long-term" contract, with a reported duration of three years. Werder Bremen secured an option to re-sign him for a fixed fee.

He failed to score in his first eight Bundesliga appearances for Hannover 96 but hit a hat-trick against Mainz 05 on 13 January 2018 in a run of goals that got his name mentioned with a call up to the Germany national squad. He scored 14 goals in his first season with the club.

On 30 September 2018, in a match against Eintracht Frankfurt, he was substituted off with an ankle injury, but was able to play in the following match, a 3–1 win against VfB Stuttgart which moved Hannover up from the last place in the league table. He also featured in a 2–2 away draw against Bayer Leverkusen and a 2–1 home defeat against FC Augsburg despite suffering from pain in his knee. He did not play in Hannover 96's loss in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on 30 October due to knee problems relating back to an injury sustained in 2013. Manager André Breitenreiter stated that the issue had been plaguing Füllkrug for years and that the pain was so severe before the cup match that Füllkrug did not feel "safe". After consulting a specialist Füllkrug returned to training on 20 November and started in four consecutive matches.

A few days after Füllkrug missed a match against SC Freiburg due to knee problems, it was announced that the injury was severe and he would likely be out for the rest of the season. The injury required surgery and was revealed to be cartilage damage to his right knee, the third injury of this kind of his career. He previously suffered cartilage damage at Werder Bremen (January 2013, right knee) and 1. FC Nürnberg (March 2015, left knee).

Return to Werder Bremen In April 2019, it was announced Füllkrug would return to former club Werder Bremen for the 2019–20 season. There were conflicting reports of the fee paid to Hannover 96 with Deichstube reporting €6.3 million plus a possible 500,000 in bonuses and Sportbuzzer claiming 7 million. 1. FC Nürnberg also profited from the transfer through a 10% sell-on clause. Füllkrug suffered another knee injury in September 2019, and missed several months. He played only 11 games in his first season, scoring 4 goals.

On 26 September 2020, he scored his second Bundesliga hat-trick in a 3–1 away win against Schalke 04.

At the start of the 2021–22 season, Füllkrug lost his place to new signing Marvin Ducksch. However, once Ole Werner became coach, Füllkrug and Ducksch began playing together and formed an effective partnership. Füllkrug scored 19 goals in the 2. Bundesliga which helped his club to be promoted back to the Bundesliga. In the beginning of the 2022–23 Bundesliga, he scored 10 goals in 14 matches, which urged the Germany national coach Hansi Flick to call him up for the World Cup in November. He eventually managed to score 16 goals in that season to finish as joint top scorer along with Christopher Nkunku, making him the first top scorer to play for Bremen since Miroslav Klose in 2005–06. for a reported fee of €13 million + €2 million in add-ons.

On 29 September, he scored his first goal at the club in a 3–1 away win over Hoffenheim. On 7 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over Newcastle United. On 28 January 2024, he netted his first hat-trick for the club, including two penalties, in a 3–1 victory over Bochum. He became the third player ever after Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez to score hat-tricks for three different Bundesliga sides. On 17 April, he netted a goal to tie the game against Atlético Madrid and eventually help them progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in eleven years. On 1 May, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg. In the final, he scored a header ruled-out by the VAR in a 2–0 loss to Real Madrid.

Füllkrug finished off fifth in the Bundesliga with his team. In his first and only season at the club, he played 43 matches, in which he was involved in 26 goals throughout all competitions.

West Ham United On 5 August 2024, Füllkrug joined Premier League team West Ham United for a reported fee of £27 million on a four-year contract. On 17 August, he made his debut for the club, as a substitute, in a 2–1 loss against Aston Villa in the league.

On 3 December 2024, he scored his first goal for the club, a header, in a 3–1 loss to Leicester City, after having been injured for over two months. On 4 January 2025, he scored a goal against Manchester City in a 4–1 loss, shortly before suffering a further injury. On 5 April 2025, Füllkrug came on as a substitute for West Ham United and scored a header against Bournemouth, after having been injured again for just over three months. West Ham United resulted in a 2–2 draw against Bournemouth after trailing behind 1–0 at half time.

Loan to AC Milan On 2 January 2026, Füllkrug moved to Italy and joined Serie A team AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2025–26 season, with a buy option included in the deal. He scored his first goal on 18 January in a 1–0 home victory against Lecce just three minutes after being substituted in.

Loan to Werder Bremen On 18 August 2026, Füllkrug rejoined Werder Bremen on loan for the 2026–27 season. Four days later, he scored his first goal following his return from a penalty in a 3–0 away win over Lüneburger SK Hansa in the DFB-Pokal.

International career In November 2022, Füllkrug received his first call-up to the Germany national team for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. He made his debut in a friendly match against Oman as a substitute and scored the winner in the process. Coincidentally, Füllkrug also became the oldest outfield player to make his debut for Germany in 20 years, aged 29 years and 280 days after Martin Max – who was 33 years and 253 days old when he made his debut for Germany in 2002.

On 27 November, he scored his first World Cup goal for Germany in a 1–1 draw against Spain. On 1 December, he scored a goal in a 4–2 win over Costa Rica. However, Germany was eliminated from the group stage as they finished third on goal difference.

Füllkrug was named in the Germany squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 14 June 2024, he made his European Championship debut as a 63rd minute substitute and scored five minutes later as the tournament hosts beat Scotland 5–1 in the opening match of the tournament. On 23 June, Füllkrug scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland in the last group stage match, securing his team's qualification to the knockout phase on top of their group.

Personal life Füllkrug's nickname is "Lücke" (German for "gap") because of his front teeth. His sister, Anna-Lena, plays as a striker for Hannover 96, while his grandfather Gerd used to play for SV Arminia Hannover.

Following an accident at Werder Bremen's training ground he once ended up hospitalised with the tooth of his teammate wedged in his forehead.

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Füllkrug goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Niclas Füllkrug No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 1 16 November 2022 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman 1 1–0 1–0 Friendly 2 27 November 2022 Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar 3 1–1 1–1 2022 FIFA World Cup 3 1 December 2022 Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar 4 4–2 4–2 2022 FIFA World Cup 4 25 March 2023 Mewa Arena, Mainz, Germany 5 1–0 2–0 Friendly 5 2–0 6 28 March 2023 RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany 6 1–2 2–3 Friendly 7 12 June 2023 Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany 7 1–0 3–3 Friendly 8 14 October 2023 Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, United States 10 2–1 3–1 Friendly 9 17 October 2023 Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States 11 2–2 2–2 Friendly 10 18 November 2023 Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany 12 2–2 2–3 Friendly11 26 March 2024 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany 15 2–1 2–1 Friendly 12 14 June 2024 Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany 17 4–0 5–1 UEFA Euro 2024 13 23 June 2024 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany 19 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2024 14 7 September 2024 Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany 22 1–0 5–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A

Honours Borussia Dortmund UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2023–24 Individual Bundesliga Player of the Month: September 2022, October 2022 VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23 Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2022–23