Niclas Füllkrug
West Ham United · Forward · Germany · 408 min
Ballity Verdict
What makes this player special?
Niclas Füllkrug's value is deciding games where it hurts: occupation of the box, finishing, and the pressure that comes with a centre-forward who stays dangerous. Build-up help is secondary; the point is goals and presence.
He is not trying to be everything. The profile is concentrated: do target man at a high level, and let secondary tasks stay secondary.
On the pitch he has actually been used as CF (#9). That matters: skill-set breadth is one thing; demonstrated deployment is another. Füllkrug's authenticity claim starts from those minutes, not from a role board alone.
The trade-off is real: physicality shows up as a structural caveat in the profile. Any club buying the upside has to decide whether that hole is tolerable in their system — or whether they will need complementary players beside him.
Why Ballity says this
- Clearest current facet: target man (good)
- Shown minutes: CF (#9)
- Known caveat: physicality
Receipts
- · Player Profile
- · Role Breadth
- · Deployment authenticity
- · Sample · limited
Position
Wide Forward
Appearances
8
Great+ roles
0
Age
33
Preferred foot
Right
Height
188 cm
Ballity insights
Peer context vs forwards — how often they get the ball and what they do with it. Separate from role tiers above. Attackers also split separation into on-ball (dribble-created) and off-ball (movement). Catalogue profile — usage ranked on touches/90, not team touch share.
Usage rate
Touch volume among forwards (touches per 90).
24.5 usage proxy
Peer band · Low
Pool percentile
35.7%
Efficiency
Output quality per action for forwards.
34 score
Peer band · Minimal
Pool percentile
15.7%
On-ball separation
Dribble-created space and self-made shot quality.
30 score
Peer band · Average
Pool percentile
54.6%
Off-ball separation
Movement-created space on assisted attempts.
70 score
Peer band · Average
Pool percentile
56.5%
Balance & structural weaknesses
How complete this player is on the position's job board — strengths and holes.
How we define this
Two-way = Great+ on ≥2 complementary axes. One-way = every other route Limited/closed. Weak routes = Average holes on complementary axes.
Strong as Physicality (Elite)
Weak routes
Defensive contribution
Proxy only · confidence: proxy — not a role tier
Proxy p8 · Actions p11 within winger peers
Stat profile
Within position peers — percentile shape (not role scores).
Versatility Index
Precise 0–100 score — cross-group breadth (67%) plus within-group depth (33%), quality-scaled by tier. Distinct from the shape card below.
Index
21.9
Breadth 16.8 · Depth 5.2
- ·Midfielders: Box Crasher (Great)
- ·Forwards: Target Man (Good)
Versatility shape
Coarse directional pattern (Specialist / Dual-threat / Generalist) — not the 0–100 Index above.
Specialist
Good SpecialistDistinct Great+
0 Great+ roles total
Where he plays
Positions with deployment evidence — not statistical guesses.
Natural
Role translations
Where the profile could fit. Tap a position — then see which role style suits it.
Select a position on the pitch to see the best role, alternatives, and evidence.
Role-by-role detail
How each role is scored. Expand a row for a radar of role-shaped stats.
Similar players
Shape match across forward roles — cosine similarity of role scores (domestic leagues only). Slot 1 is the best same-league match; the rest are the next closest from the full pool.
Matheus Cunha
Manchester United · PL 25/26
Closest roles
Target ManΔ12
PoacherΔ12
Shadow StrikerΔ14
Junior Adamu
SC Freiburg · Bundesliga
Closest roles
- Target ManΔ13
- Shadow StrikerΔ6
- PoacherΔ11
Álvaro Rodriguez
Elche · La Liga
Closest roles
- Target ManΔ34
- Shadow StrikerΔ24
- PoacherΔ28