West Ham manager David Moyes delivered his verdict on Sebastien Haller when speaking to reporters yesterday afternoon.
The 27-year-old joined the Hammers from Eintracht Frankfurt way back in the summer of 2019 for around £45 million (BBC).
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The striker bagged just 14 goals and three assists in 54 games for West Ham though (Transfermarkt).
And Moyes moved him on to Ajax in January 2021 for around £20 million (The Times).
At the time, most Hammers fans were glad to see the back of Haller. He clearly didn’t suit our system nor was he a good fit for the intense nature of Premier League football.
Over the past year though, the Ivory Coast International has absolutely lit it up in Holland.
Haller has been truly sensational for the Dutch giants, racking up 42 goals and 15 assists in just 52 games so far (Transfermarkt). He has been absolutely on fire in the Champions League this season too and is currently the top scorer in the competition with 11 goals to his name.
West Ham boss Moyes shares baffling Haller verdict
Since selling Haller to Ajax, the Hammers have had to make do with Michail Antonio as our only option through the middle.
That is quite simply farcical considering the fact that West Ham supposedly have ambitions of challenging for honours on all fronts.
How we could do with someone like Haller at the moment eh!!
Moyes spoke to Football.London yesterday and responded when asked about Haller’s recent heroics at Ajax:
“Seb was a great lad for us. He scored v Sheffield United, an unbelievable overhead kick which was on the verge of goal of the season. He played as big a part in us staying in the division as anyone. His goals were really important so we thanked Seb. But he had a great opportunity with Ajax in the Champions League and it had not all been plain sailing for him here. We got the money which we thought was correct and it was a move which suited us and Seb at the time so we moved on, but I always thought that he had all the abilities to score goals and make goals and he has gone onto prove that. He is a good lad Seb and we wish him well.”
Really?
If Moyes genuinely thought that about Haller then why on earth did we sell him? Why didn’t the Scot try to get the best out of the Ivorian?
We’re not saying that it was the completely wrong decision to sell Haller at the time. What was inexcusable, however, was doing so without having a top-class replacement already lined up.
And if Moyes genuinely thinks as highly of Haller as he is making out, surely he wouldn’t have decided to sell him for just £20 million. His comments on the Ajax ace yesterday really were baffling to say the least.
The 27-year-old obviously has something special about him. He didn’t work hard enough at West Ham, we all know that but there must have been a way for both him and the club to figure something out whereby he would be a useful asset to us.
Alas that didn’t happen and he was sold for £20 million. He’s probably worth north of £50 million now. It was poor business from West Ham. And Moyes’s comments yesterday now make his decision to sell Haller seem all the more frustrating.
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