West Ham forward Niclas Fullkrug is a target for newly-promoted Serie A outfit Venezia, according to reports.

Writing on his personal website, journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has named the German international as a potential option for the Italian minnows.

Fullkrug is currently on loan at another Italian club, AC Milan, but things have not gone to plan for him at the San Siro.

The 33-year-old has made just three starts and scored only one goal. He is not expected to remain with the Rossoneri on a permanent basis.

Milan have an option to buy Rossnoneri for €5m (£4.3m), but they are not expected to trigger it, with Di Marzio saying that the striker “will return” to the London Stadium when the campaign is over.

West Ham need to get Fullkrug off the club’s books

The striker has been a massive disappointment since his £27m move from Borussia Dortmund at the start of last season. He has struggled with both form and fitness.

Fullkrug pressed to leave the Hammers in January, and he got his wish when an agreement was reached with Milan, but he will be coming back to England with his tail between his legs.

It is fair to say that he won’t be welcome back, especially as the club would have been counting on raising at least some money from his eventual sale to Milan.

Relegation will trigger a fire sale

Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday does mean that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side still have a slim chance of staying up. They have to beat Leeds this weekend, and hope David Moyes’ Everton do them a favour and beat Spurs.

If the scenario doesn’t play out, Fullkrug won’t be the only one leaving West Ham over the coming weeks. A £100m financial black hole will reportedly need to be filled, and it may necessitate the departures of several key players, including Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville and even captain Jarrod Bowen.

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