Niclas Füllkrug details reasons for leaving Borussia Dortmund for West Ham United

Niclas Füllkrug has stated that his desire to be an important player for his team prompted him to leave Borussia Dortmund and join West Ham United this summer.

Less than one year after joining Borussia Dortmund, Niclas Füllkrug made the decision to leave the club. The 31 year old made the move to West Ham United, joining the English Premier League side on a four year contract.

Füllkrug has now reflected on his decision to leave Borussia Dortmund. When asked if he was surprised that the BVB bosses sanctioned his sale, the striker said (in an interview with SportBILD): "No. In the end, I don't know whether BVB - when they picked me up a year ago - even expected to generate such a high transfer fee with me again."

Niclas Füllkrug: Important for me to be at a club where I play a central role

West Ham United signed Füllkrug for a fee in the region of 27 million euros plus bonuses. The Germany international's decision to leave Borussia Dortmund came after the signing of Serhou Guirassy from VfB Stuttgart.

He recently stated that the arrival of Guirassy wasn't exactly the "greatest vote of confidence" in him. When asked about those comments, he added: "I don't know if vote of confidence was the right term. But: In the past three or four years, I have always managed to reach an even better level. I want to keep it that way. It's very important for me to be at a club where I play a central role, where I'm important. Where the style of play is also geared towards me to a certain extent."

Niclas Füllkrug scored 15 goals and assisted a further ten in 43 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. He is still getting used to life in the English Premier League, and has yet to find the back of the net in four matches for West Ham United. The striker recently picked up an achilles injury and may face a spell on the sidelines.