Niclas Füllkrug

Niclas Füllkrug (born 9 February 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.

A Werder Bremen youth star, Füllkrug started his senior career with the club's reserves. Following appearances with the first team in the Bundesliga and a loan to 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth in the 2013–14 season, he moved to 1. FC Nürnberg. His performances at Nürnberg earned him a move to Hannover 96 in 2016. In April 2019, he returned to Werder Bremen for the 2019–20 season and played there for four seasons before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2023.

A former German youth international, he received a call-up to the Germany senior national team in November 2022, which he went on to represent at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2024.

Werder Bremen, and Greuther Fürth loan
Füllkrug spent eight years with TuS Ricklingen in the Ricklingen district of Hanover, where he was coached by his father. During his time there he scored an average of 160 goals per season. When he joined Werder Bremen at the age of 14 in summer 2006, he rejected offers from five Bundesliga clubs, including Hannover 96.

Having progressed through Werder Bremen's youth system, Füllkrug began his senior career with the club's reserves.

On 24 August 2013, he joined Greuther Fürth on a one-year loan deal. On 2 November 2013, he scored four goals including a 12-minute hat-trick for his new club during a spectacular 6–2 away win at Erzgebirge Aue. Having scored six goals in 18 appearances, he sustained a ligament rupture in his right ankle in a 2–0 win against VfL Bochum which was expected to keep him out of action for three to four weeks.

1. FC Nürnberg
In 2014, Füllkrug joined 1. FC Nürnberg permanently having agreed a "long-term" contract, with a reported duration of three years. Werder Bremen secured an option to re-sign him for a fixed fee.

Hannover 96
Füllkrug joined Hannover 96 on a four-year contract in July 2016. Nürnberg received a reported transfer fee of €2 million plus 1 million in possible bonuses.

He failed to score in his first eight Bundesliga appearances for Hannover 96 but hit a hat-trick against Mainz 05 on 13 January 2018 in a run of goals that got his name mentioned with a call up to the Germany national squad. He scored 14 goals in his first season with the club.

In summer 2018, Borussia Mönchengladbach offered €18 million for Füllkrug, and he also had offers from English clubs. However, Hannover decided to keep Füllkrug and in August it was announced that he had agreed to a contract extension until 2022.

On 30 September 2018, in a match against Eintracht Frankfurt, he was substituted off with an ankle injury, but was able to play in the following match, a 3–1 win against VfB Stuttgart which moved Hannover up from the last place in the league table. He also featured in a 2–2 away draw against Bayer Leverkusen and a 2–1 home defeat against FC Augsburg despite suffering from pain in his knee. He did not play in Hannover 96's loss in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on 30 October due to knee problems relating back to an injury sustained in 2013. Manager André Breitenreiter stated that the issue had been plaguing Füllkrug for years and that the pain was so severe before the cup match that Füllkrug did not feel "safe". After consulting a specialist Füllkrug returned to training on 20 November and started in four consecutive matches.

A few days after Füllkrug missed a match against SC Freiburg due to knee problems, it was announced that the injury was severe and he would likely be out for the rest of the season. The injury required surgery and was revealed to be cartilage damage to his right knee, the third injury of this kind of his career. He previously suffered cartilage damage at Werder Bremen (January 2013, right knee) and 1. FC Nürnberg (March 2015, left knee).

Return to Werder Bremen
In April 2019, it was announced Füllkrug would return to former club Werder Bremen for the 2019–20 season. There were conflicting reports of the fee paid to Hannover 96 with Deichstube reporting €6.3 million plus a possible 500,000 in bonuses and Sportbuzzer claiming 7 million. 1. FC Nürnberg also profited from the transfer through a 10% sell-on clause. Füllkrug suffered another knee injury in September 2019, and missed several months. He played only 11 games in his first season, scoring 4 goals.

On 26 September 2020, he scored his second Bundesliga hat-trick in a 3–1 away win against Schalke 04.

At the start of the 2021–22 season, Füllkrug lost his place to new signing Marvin Ducksch. However, once Ole Werner became coach, Füllkrug and Ducksch began playing together and formed an effective partnership. Füllkrug scored 19 goals in the 2. Bundesliga which helped his club to be promoted back to the Bundesliga. In the beginning of the 2022–23 Bundesliga, he scored 10 goals in 14 matches, which urged the Germany national coach Hansi Flick to call him up for the World Cup in November. He eventually managed to score 16 goals in that season to finish as joint top scorer along with Christopher Nkunku, making him the first top scorer to play for Bremen since Miroslav Klose in 2005–06.

Borussia Dortmund
On 31 August 2023, Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund announced the signing of Füllkrug on a three-year contract, for a reported fee of €13 million + €2 million in add-ons.

On 29 September, he scored his first goal at the club in a 3–1 away win over Hoffenheim. On 7 November, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–0 victory over Newcastle United. On 28 January 2024, he netted his first hat-trick, including two penalties, in a 3–1 victory over Bochum. On 17 April, he netted a goal to tie the game against Atlético Madrid and eventually help them progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in eleven years. On 1 May, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg.

Füllkrug finished his first Bundesliga season with Dortmund as the club's second highest league scorer with 12 goals.

International career
In November 2022, Füllkrug was called up for the Germany national team for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. He made his debut in a friendly against Oman as a substitute and scored in the process. Coincidentally, he also became the oldest outfield player to make his debut for Germany in 20 years, aged 29 years and 280 days after Martin Max who was 33 years and 253 days old when he made his debut for Germany in 2002. On 27 November, he scored his first World Cup goal for Germany in a 1–1 draw against Spain. On 1 December, he scored a goal in a 4–2 win over Costa Rica. However, Germany was eliminated from the group stage as they finished third on goal difference.

Füllkrug was named in the Germany squad for UEFA Euro 2024. On 14 June 2024, he made his European Championship debut as a 63rd minute substitute and scored five minutes later as the tournament hosts beat Scotland 5–1 in the opening match of the tournament. On 23 June, he scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland in the last group stage match, securing his team's qualification to the knockout phase on top of their group.

Personal life
Füllkrug's nickname is "Lücke" (German for "gap") because of his front teeth. He has a wife named Lisa, and a daughter born in 2019. His sister, Anna-Lena, plays as a striker for Hannover 96, while his grandfather Gerd used to play for SV Arminia Hannover.

Following an accident at Werder Bremen's training ground he once ended up hospitalised with the tooth of his teammate wedged in his forehead.

International

 * Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Füllkrug goal.

Honours
Borussia Dortmund
 * UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2023–24

Individual
 * Bundesliga Player of the Month: September 2022, October 2022
 * Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23
 * VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022–23
 * Bundesliga top goalscorer: 2022–23