Came to West Ham as a cannonballer, left after a year and a half to become one again

He was supposed to be West Ham’s great saviour, but ironically the London side saved themselves with him on the bench. The transfer of Sebastien Haller to West Ham didn’t work out at all, one of his goals cost 3.2 million of his transfer fee and he packed his bags and left for Ajax after a year and a half.

In his first season in a Frankfurt jersey, Sebastien Haller showed signs that he could one day be an excellent striker. In the 2017/18 season, he scored thirteen goals and assisted seven times through all competitions, and contributed to the German Cup win with a 4+3 record.

The French beater amazed fans around the world the following season as well. He scored fifteen goals and assisted nine more in the Bundesliga and was not far behind in the Europa League, where he scored eight goals (5+3).

Together with Luka Jovic, they complemented each other perfectly in attack, with Haller having height and strength, the Serbian international speed and finishing. Not for nothing did big clubs reach for them after the season, Jovic was bought by Real Madrid, Haller was snapped up by West Ham.

Two and a half years ago the Hammers were not fighting for European cups, their main problem was the absence of a top striker. The purchase of Haller was supposed to solve the situation, the Bundesliga star cost the club forty-five million euros.

At first, the burly Frenchman seemed worth the price. In his first seven league games he scored four times and assisted once, with his goals securing West Ham four of their twelve points.

But that was the end of Haller’s success for a long time. The whole team stopped doing well, the Hammers were saved only in the penultimate round, although the quality of the squad should have been playing for at least mid-table.

Haller scored four goals and added one assist from the ninth round, thus ending the league season with a record of 8+2. These are not bad numbers in themselves, but West Ham fans were bothered by his performances.

Sebastien was on the edge of the attack most of the games and didn’t work for the team, didn’t defend and was far from 100% in the end. Despite all this, he played pretty much all the time as David Moyes didn’t have a typological replacement.

The turning point was Haller’s groin injury in June. Moyes was forced to put someone else in the attack. He opted for Michail Antonio and he hasn’t moved on from that position. After his recovery, Haller only came on as a substitute.

Although he was getting chances in the starting line-up at the start of the 2019/20 season, he never really caught on and left for Ajax in the winter transfer window. Much to the annoyance of Hammers supporters at half the price he was coming in at.

You know the result, leaving the Isles was a deliverance for Haller, he scored forty-six goals and assisted sixteen times in fifty-eight games in the Netherlands. Incredible numbers, matched only by Robert Lewandowski in Europe.

Ironically, Haller’s departure has also helped West Ham. According to the media, he didn’t have a good effect on the cabin and the Hammers picked themselves up after his transfer and finished an amazing season in the cups – they qualified for the Europa League from sixth place. And Antonio? He has found his feet at the spearhead striker position and is putting in the best performances of his career here.

Source: Transfermarket