West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui should be prioritising getting the best out of Niclas Fullkrug over the next month or so.
The Spaniard’s decision to bring Niclas Fullkrug to West Ham for around £25 million may well end up being a masterstroke, or a big mistake – only time will tell.
However, I do feel like Julen Lopetegui needs to find a way to give Fullkrug the best possible chance to succeed at the London Stadium.
Despite his reputation as somewhat of a target-man, bulldozer type striker, he is actually a very cultured player.
The 31-year-old recently admitted that he excels when dropping into the number 10 position.
So how can Lopetegui get his team operating to Fullkrug’s strengths, whilst accommodating all of our other top-class players?
Julen Lopetegui must use diamond formation to unlock Niclas Fullkrug at West Ham
I think it’s very obvious to see that Fullkrug will struggle in our current setup.
The wide players don’t operate close enough to the German, and he has been isolated through the middle when he’s played for us so far.
I really don’t want to see Fullkrug go down the same route as Gianluca Scamacca and Sebastien Haller at the London Stadium.
He’s too good to simply fail at West Ham, but Lopetegui does need to make some changes.
Firstly, the Hammers boss needs to change the formation that he has deployed so far at West Ham.
Secondly, some more of the new signings need to come into the side.
Here’s exactly how I would line up if I was in charge of West Ham, and really wanted to see Fullkrug flourish:
Now, there will definitely people out there who will say that that lineup is too attacking.
However, I disagree.
With that back four, and Edson Alvarez sitting just in front of them, we should be more than capable of keeping it tight at the back.
In addition to that, when we are on the front foot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s pace will make it extremely hard to counter attack against us.
Lopetegui arrived at the London Stadium with the chief remit of improving us as a team but also to implement a far more attractive brand of football.
The Spaniard’s Hammers reign is still in it’s infancy, so we are still yet to see many noticeable improvements with regards to our playing style.
However, that will definitely come in time.
And in my opinion, the best way to fast-track that will be for Julen Lopetegui to deploy the diamond formation in midfield, in order to get the best out of West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug.
With Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler providing the ammunition for that front three, the Hammers would be a real handful for any team.
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