West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui admits Niclas Fullkrug is still way off the pace of the Premier League after a disappointing full debut.

Fullkrug, the £27.5million summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, finally made his long-awaited first league start for the Hammers against Brighton.

But the Germany striker, only just back to fitness after more than three months with a calf injury, lasted 55 underwhelming minutes before he was substituted.

Fullkrug touched the ball a total of 13 times, just twice in the opposition box, and lost possession eight times.

And as if to illustrate just how ineffective the 31-year-old was, West Ham scored moments after he went off.

“It’s true that now he’s not in his best way,” said Lopetegui. “But it’s true that he needs minutes to achieve this level that we need.

“I think that when he’s going to be better, he’s going to last more. It’s about the minutes, about the matches, the way to recover his best.

“Sometimes, knowing that the player is not in his best way, you need to put him in to play, because we think that we are going to need him in his best way.”