Aston Villa are relishing life under Unai Emery, as the Midlands side continue to climb the table and enjoy the new peaks to their success.
The Spaniard arrived when the Villans were sat in 16th place under Steven Gerrard, and inspired his inherited squad to finish in a European spot and claim 7th place after a heroic run of form in 2023.
Back in August, only Pep Guardiola had won more Premier League points than Emery in 2023, highlighting just how much of an influence his guidance has had on the same team that were struggling for points not even a year ago.
The four-time Europa League winner installed a new breath of fresh air to Villa Park, with times being tough in spells prior to his landing in Birmingham.
One area that the former Arsenal and PSG boss has bolstered is the pull that Villa have in the transfer window, highlighted as they welcomed five new faces of high calibre to the squad this summer.
The Villans haven’t always found such ease in landing their targets, with plenty of talent linked over the years going on the find sanctuary elsewhere and show those in the Midlands what they’re missing.
Rewind back to 2018, and Steve Bruce had taken charge of Villa’s push for promotion in the 2017/18 Championship season, missing out in the play off final to Fulham to see them remain in the second-tier for a third consecutive campaign.
The club’s transfer prospects were integral to them fighting for promotion once more after the summer of 2018, with one name listed as a potential capture that is currently outperforming Emery’s heroes today.
Did Aston Villa nearly sign Niclas Fullkrug?
In May 2018, news in Germany reported Villa’s interest in Hannover striker Niclas Fullkrug, who was in demand in England following his impressive performances in the Bundesliga.
In the 2017/18 campaign prior to the transfer window, Fullkrug netted 14 league goals in a tough term for Die Roten who finished 13th while their striker ranked at 3rd in the Bundesliga’s scoring charts.
That season at Villa, Albert Adomah ended the campaign as the side’s top scorer on 14 goals in the second tier, prompting a slight need for change to the front line with Bruce’s midfield men contributing more than their designated strikers.
As reported by BILD, the Villans were joined by Newcastle United, Leicester City, Watford, Cardiff City and Fulham in their admiration of Fullkrug, who could have been the man to ease the pressures on scoring.
BILD had an understanding that Hannover wouldn’t listen to offers below €10m (£8.6m) for their sharpshooter, which was evidently a price too high as he remained in his homeland by the time the transfer window had closed.
It wasn’t the last time that the now 30-year-old would be linked with a move to England, as this summer he told BILD, relayed by Fussball News, how he “could have gone to England” prior to his move to Borussia Dortmund in August.
How much is Niclas Fullkrug worth?
Dortmund paid a fee in the region of €13m (£11.2m) to capture the forward’s signature this summer, with him once again being the subject of transfer rumours due to his high-scoring tallies in the Bundesliga.
Though Fullkrug didn’t leave Hannover during the summer of Villa’s reported interest, he did depart to rejoin his former club Werder Bremen the year after in 2019, joining for a fee of €6.3m (£5m).
Now, as listed by CIES Football Observatory, the German international is valued at just €10m (£9m), telling the story of the difference in value in England and Germany, with fellow 30-year-old striker Harry Kane moving to Bayern Munich for £100m.
While Kane scored 30 Premier League goals last term to bolster his price tag, Fullkrug was just 14 league goals behind him in the 2022/23 campaign, suggesting that Villa and other clubs could have picked up a bargain by signing him when interest was swarming.
How many goals has Niclas Fullkrug scored?
Goals have been a consistent theme in Fullkrug’s career in his homeland, with his current domestic tally sitting at 146 goals in 381 games representing a host of German clubs.
His strong form over the past few years was rewarded internationally, as he was handed his national team debut by Hansi Flick in 2022, where he has since gained nine caps and scored seven goals.
After joining Bremen from Hannover in 2019, the goals kept coming for the striker, who was once dubbed “clinical” by scout Cal Murray, who also described the German as a “great finisher”.
During his four-year stay at Bremen, the 30-year-old scored 46 goals, with 19 of them coming in the decisive 2021/22 season that saw Bremen get promoted back to the top flight thanks to his contributions.
His consistent scoring streaks make it easy to see why Bruce was interested in the prospect of bringing the forward to the Midlands, with what has come since being interesting reading for those at Villa.
What is Niclas Fullkrug doing now?
Last season, the Hannover-born whiz found the net 16 times in 28 Bundesliga appearances, meaning that he outscored Villa talisman Ollie Watkins who claimed 15 goals in 37 Premier League appearances in 2022/23.
In 133 Bundesliga games in his career thus far, Fullkrug has bagged an impressive 46 goals and provided a further 11 assists, with that a remarkably similar record to what Watkins has achieved in England's top flight, having scored 44 goals and registered 17 assists in 117 games to date.
As highlighted in the table below, there are also direct similarities between the two forward’s games, with their averages per 90 last campaign suggesting just how much Fullkrug offers to his side in comparison to Watkins, who is adored in Birmingham.
Watkins vs Fullkrug 2022/23 averages per 90
Ollie Watkins
Niclas Fullkrug
Non-penalty goals
0.40
0.40
Total shots
2.42
2.69
Progressive passes
1.12
3.27
Shots on target %
53.6%
43.2%
All figures via FBref
While not many would trade the Englishman considering the form he has been hitting under Emery’s guidance, it epitomises the quality that Bruce could have captured for his Villa side for a mere price of just £8.6m.
Who did Villa sign instead of Fullkrug?
It wasn’t all doom and gloom at Villa for Bruce that summer, as they recruited Tammy Abraham on loan from Chelsea in a move that proved pivotal to the Villans’ promotion to the Premier League, as he netted 26 league goals.
The Englishman did of course return to his parent club at the end of that season, in a bittersweet goodbye from Villa Park, who were eternally grateful for his contributions to their push for the top-flight.
Looking back, the signing of Fullkrug could have been a strong move for Bruce, who would have found the missing piece to his puzzle in the German international, who continues to show his worth in the Bundesliga.
From £8.6m to outscoring Watkins, Villa could have struck gold by unearthing the status of Fullkrug in the Premier League, however, things just weren’t meant to be for both player and club.
