After ill-fated stints at West Ham and AC Milan, striker Niclas Fullkrug's rich vein of form since his Werder Bremen return has been capped with a Germany recall.
Germany coach Jurgen Klopp brought Fullkrug back into the fold for Nations League fixtures against Serbia on Friday and the Netherlands next week.
Fullkrug has not played an international game since a Nations League third-place playoff loss to France in June 2025.
While Klopp, who has a contract until after the 2030 World Cup, has stated his focus is on youth and building for the future, Fullkrug made himself impossible to ignore.
Currently the Bundesliga's top scorer ahead of Harry Kane, the 33-year-old has 12 goals in 11 matches in all competitions, having managed only four in two seasons after leaving Germany for West Ham.
Klopp admitted "sometimes form trumps everything else".
"He made his case with a wide variety of goals... and almost all of them were spectacular," said Klopp.
Fullkrug also has an excellent record for Germany with 14 goals in just 24 appearances, many of which came as a substitute.
Fullkrug has a simple explanation for his form since returning to Bremen on a season-long loan from now-Championship side West Ham.
"It's my footballing home," Fullkrug said of the club he first joined aged 14.
"Everyone sleeps better in their own bed. I just feel completely at ease here."
Fullkrug became the latest striker to endure an unhappy time at West Ham, a club which has become a graveyard for promising European forwards.
He scored just three times in an injury-hit 18 months in London. But while he may not have gotten among the goals, his endeared himself to some of the fanbase with his typically German honesty.
After conceding late to draw 1-1 at home to Southampton in April 2025, Fullkrug spoke his mind, using a swear word to describe the Hammers' performance, with the West Ham fans then using his quote to create a chant referencing him.
Fullkrug's honesty has also won him support among many in Germany, where the gap-toothed journeyman is seen as an antidote to the modern image-conscious footballer.
"I couldn't stay fit," Fullkrug said of his struggles abroad, adding: "The key is staying fit and having a team around me that looks for me -- and passes me the ball when the moment is right.
"That's the key -- I think I've been able to prove that now."
Klose an 'inspiration'
Fullkrug is in blistering form but his call-up highlights how bare the cupboard now is in a country once known for producing top-class forwards.
The four-time world champions have produced strikers like Gerd Mueller, Fritz Walter, Ulf Kirsten, Rudi Voeller and Jurgen Klinsmann.
But Germany have not had a top-class number nine since 2014 World Cup-winner Miroslav Klose.
Of Germany's current generation, Kai Havertz regularly starts up front but the Arsenal man has never been an out-and-out goalscorer.
Fullkrug said Klose was and is his role model.
"My age is a fact. But I find what Miro (Klose) had to say interesting. Miro was my role model when I was a kid.
"He said 'I played until 38, and became world champion when I was 36'."
On Friday, Klose praised Fullkrug, saying: "I consider him a very talented player in the penalty area.
"Having someone in the team who knows how to find the net is a very good thing."
