Sebastien Haller: West Ham confirm forward's Ajax departure for £20.2m transfer fee
West Ham have confirmed Sebastien Haller has joined Ajax on a permanent deal for a transfer fee of £20.2m.
Sky Sports News previously reported a bid had been accepted by the Dutch champions – for less than half the £45m West Ham paid Eintracht Frankfurt for the 26-year-old forward in the summer of 2019.
Haller, capped twice by the Ivory Coast, scored just 10 goals in 48 Premier League games for West Ham and returns to the Netherlands where he previously spent two-and-a-half seasons with Utrecht.
Despite his struggles in east London, Haller scored arguably a goal-of-the-season contender with his outrageous overhead kick against Crystal Palace last month, for what was his third league goal of the season.
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It is believed the funds from the sale of Haller, who has signed a four-and-a-half year contract with Ajax, will be offered to Hammers boss David Moyes to invest back into the playing squad with a number of players already linked to the club.
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West Ham, who are 10th in the Premier League after 17 games, have been offered the chance to sign former Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen from Inter Milan and the opportunity to re-sign Marko Arnautovic from Shanghai SIPG.
‘Haller not the right fit for West Ham’
Analysis from SSN’s Kaveh Solhekol:
“So why were West Ham willing to sell Haller? The short answer is, he is not the right player for David Moyes and West Ham. Moyes wants a striker who can play up front on his own, somebody who will bust his gut for the club for 95 minutes every single game. And Haller is not that type of player.
“He had that incredible season at Frankfurt where he scored a lot of goals, but he was playing up front with Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic and he needs other forwards around him.
“That is not the way Moyes plays, so it is a good move for West Ham and Haller. Moyes thinks he can do better and take that money they are getting for selling Haller – although it will be paid in instalments – and bring in a striker who is better suited to the way he wants to play and who can provide support for Michail Antonio.”
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