A few hours after the change
DFB professional conquers the top of the table with Milan
Jan 2, 2026 – 11:03 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Niclas Füllkrug’s transfer to Milan only became official on Friday. Shortly afterwards, the national player celebrated a successful debut.
Goal scorer Niclas Füllkrug took the top spot on his debut in the Italian Serie A with AC Milan. Almost twelve hours after the loan deal with West Ham United was announced, the national player played his first minutes for his new club on Friday evening in the “Rossoneri’s” 1-0 (0-0) win at Cagliari Calcio.
Füllkrug came into the game in the 69th minute for the goalscorer Rafael Leão (50th). The 32-year-old retained the ball in a number of actions and created the best chance to make it 2-0 through Christian Pulisic (87th). Füllkrug would like to secure his World Cup ticket with good performances in Milan. National coach Julian Nagelsmann recently called for “more match practice” for the fan favorite.
Füllkrug was hardly used in the Premier League recently and he also had to struggle with injuries on several occasions. The striker moved to the island from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024 for 27 million euros. For the “Hammers”, Füllkrug only scored three goals in 29 competitive games. He has been training with his new employer in the past few days.
The win put Milan at least temporarily at the top, but city rivals Inter can overtake FC Bologna again on Sunday. Füllkrug’s next chance to score his debut goal will be in the first home game with Milan on Thursday against CFC Genoa.