Rudi Völler has opened the door for Füllkrug to return to the German national team, but he apparently no longer sees the striker as a long-term solution.

The DFB sporting director discussed the Werder Bremen striker's potential return to the German squad on Sport1's "Doppelpass" program, saying: "He can win aerial duels, that's a fact. If he can score those kinds of goals – yes, why not?" He added: "Klopp will be watching this closely in the next few games." However, he also cautioned: "Don't forget, we're talking about the Euros two years from now, and he'll be two years older then."

If Germany participates in the Euros held in England, Füllkrug, who has already scored 14 goals in 24 national team appearances, will be 35 years old. Völler said: "But if he can maintain this form – he has already proven that you can always count on him." For Füllkrug, as with all candidates: "Good performances in the Bundesliga will help."

Völler noted that becoming a regular starter again has helped Füllkrug considerably, "which is why he returned to Bremen." Völler stated that if Füllkrug were still at his former club West Ham United, in a situation like last Friday's match in Dortmund where he equalized at 2-2 with a header, he would likely be "substituted after an hour" and "wouldn't even get such an opportunity."

Regarding Germany's striker shortage, Völler said: "It's not that easy to just develop a striker." This cannot be accomplished overnight by new general manager Mertesacker and head of youth development Wörns. However, Völler believes fans "should be a bit more optimistic." The group of strikers that Klopp brought in for his debut as Germany coach "performed very well. We must be patient; that's no secret."

Völler said Klopp "is doing very well – even if the results aren't perfect yet. The way he instills his playing philosophy in young players is already impressive. Not everything is flawless, but it's impossible for everything to work immediately from the start. The key is for it to work in matches. We'll see then."

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