Lothar Matthäus wants Jürgen Klopp to seriously consider bringing Füllkrug back into the Germany squad. Füllkrug "is a good bloke" and "is well liked", but the goals matter most. "he finds the net, he scores goals, more than anyone else. If those aren't arguments," Matthäus said at an event held by his sponsor Interwetten. He also pointed to the struggles of Füllkrug's rivals for a place in the Germany team.
"Of course we're missing that centre-forward. We always talk about young players. But the only one making a case with goals is Niclas Füllkrug," said the national team's record appearance-maker. Matthäus does not see Kai Havertz, who recently left the squad injured once again, as a proper centre-forward. Tim Kleindienst was injured again at Borussia Mönchengladbach, while Nick Woltemade "is searching for his form. Jürgen Klopp should see that too."
Woltemade did at least recently score his second goal for loan club Juventus in the Europa League, but he remains without a league goal. Italian newspapers have repeatedly criticised him of late, while the Old Lady hit a new low with a 3-0 debacle against Lazio.
That may be why Matthäus has advised the striker to return to the Bundesliga.
Why did Füllkrug miss the World Cup?
Although Matthäus considers Füllkrug merely "decent but average", he believes the striker could "help at least until the European Championship" despite his advancing age (33).
Füllkrug last made the Germany squad at the beginning of September 2025. After his move from Borussia Dortmund to West Ham United, his body let him down all too often. Recurring muscle injuries and persistent Achilles tendon irritation limited him to just 29 competitive appearances for the Hammers in a year and a half (3 goals, 2 assists). A loan to AC Milan failed to bring the hoped-for turnaround (20 appearances, 1 goal), and Füllkrug ultimately missed the World Cup last summer.
Back on loan from West Ham at Bremen, he has suddenly rediscovered his top form. Füllkrug has scored seven goals in seven competitive appearances, most recently earning Werder two points with a brace against SC Paderborn and a last-minute goal in Dortmund.
Will Jürgen Klopp bring Füllkrug back into the Germany squad?
The 33-year-old wants no part of the growing debate over a Germany return. He made that clear again at the weekend. "I'd think it was cool - I think I'm always very respectful towards the media - if the media started respecting me too. And if I've now said 44 times that I don't want to talk about it, it would be cool if we stopped talking about it," Füllkrug told DAZN.
His coach Daniel Thioune, meanwhile, pointed out that Füllkrug currently leads the Bundesliga scoring chart alongside Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) and that "if someone leads the scoring chart, then he can't have done too much wrong". Klopp will decide whether to bring Füllkrug back, but Thioune has a simple message: "If he needs goals, then he should call him."
Germany next face Serbia (13 November) and the Netherlands (16 November) in the Nations League during the mid-November international break. DFB sporting director Rudi Völler recently indicated that he was open to a Füllkrug comeback.
"He can head the ball, that's a fact. If he scores goals like those - yes, why not?" Völler said on Sport1's Doppelpass a week ago: "Jürgen Klopp will be watching over the next few games." He also warned that one must "not forget: we're talking about the European Championship in two years, when he'll be even older."
Getty ImagesTresoldi, Pejcinovic, Brunner: Does Germany not have a centre-forward problem after all?
Perhaps the young strikers' time will have come by then. Nicolo Tresoldi has led the way of late, making headlines with his goals at Club Brugge and for Germany's under-21 side and even setting Champions League records. The German-Italian, however, does not want to decide which association he will represent in future until after next summer's under-21 European Championship.
Alongside Tresoldi, Germany also expect Dzenan Pejcinovic and Younes Ebnoutalib to play a part in their future. Pejcinovic has been in a serious slump since his €25 million move from VfL Wolfsburg to VfB Stuttgart and is still waiting for his first Bundesliga goal for the Swabians. Ebnoutalib, meanwhile, was once again Eintracht Frankfurt's match-winner last Friday. The 23-year-old has six goals and two assists in seven competitive appearances.
Paris Brunner has been in even better form of late for AS Monaco and the under-21 side. He scored twice on his debut for the youth team, while seven goals in eight games have made him indispensable for Monaco.
Those young strikers could yet solve the centre-forward problem Matthäus sees in Germany. For now, though, his hierarchy is clear: "Havertz number one, then Füllkrug as an experienced player. You can add Tresoldi because of the goals he's scored."
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