MILAN (AP) — AC Milan completed the loan signing of West Ham forward Niclas Füllkrug on Friday, the opening day of the Italian winter transfer window.
Milan has the option to buy the 32-year-old Germany international for a reported 5 million euros ($6 million) at the end of the season.
Füllkrug had already started training with his new teammates at the end of last year after passing a medical and could make his debut immediately, with Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri confirming that he would be included on the bench for Friday’s Serie A match against Cagliari.
Füllkrug played for a number of clubs in Germany before moving to West Ham from Borussia Dortmund in 2024.
However, he failed to make an impact in the Premier League, scoring just three goals in an injury-plagued first season and none this campaign. He hasn’t found the back of the net since April.
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FILE - West Ham's Niclas Fuellkrug runs into position during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Chelsea in London, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum, a step that experts say bolstered her status as her father's potential heir.
The visit, which occurred on New Year’s Day on Thursday, even sparked speculation that the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13, could be named a high-level official at the upcoming ruling Workers’ Party congress.
Images carried by North Korea’s state media on Friday showed Kim Ju Ae standing in the front row with her parents and deeply bowing at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.
The palace is “a place that symbolizes legitimacy of the North Korean regime” and her visit there ahead of the Workers' Party congress is a politically orchestrated move, said Cheong Seong-Chang, deputy head of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.
Kim Jong Un, 41, is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea since the country's foundation in 1948. He often marks key state anniversaries by visiting the Kumsusan palace and paying respect to his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Cheong predicted that Kim Jong Un could give his daughter the first secretary post at the Workers' Party, the party's No. 2 job, at the congress. Other experts say she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided with lower-level jobs.
The congress, the first of its kind in five years, is meant to establish new priorities in state policies and reshuffle officials. North Korea hasn't said when it will hold it, but the National Intelligence Service, South Korea's spy agency, said it likely will be held either in January or February.
Since first appearing in state media in November 2022, Kim Ju Ae has accompanied her father at a slew of events including military parades and missile launches. In September, Kim Jong Un brought her on his trip to Beijing. During New Years' Day celebrations this week, she kissed her father on the cheek, showing their closeness.
In January 2024, the NIS said it viewed Kim Ju Ae as her father's likely heir. Some outside experts disagree with that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy. The NIS told lawmakers in November that Kim appeared to have no major health problems.
Revealing the young Kim Ju Ae was a surprise to foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il were mentioned in North Korean state media before they became adults. Some observers say Kim Jong Un likely aimed to shore up public support for his plan to extend the family's rule by repeatedly disclosing Kim Ju Ae in public events.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, center right, his wife Ri Sol Ju, third left, and their daughter, center, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, visit Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
