‘It’s time for him to go’ – Exclusive: McAvennie reacts as Haller reportedly nears West Ham exit
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie will be glad to see the back of Sebastien Haller with the West Ham striker reportedly on the verge of joining Dutch giants Ajax.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that Haller, 26, is close to joining Ajax in a deal worth around £20.2million (€22.5million) and is likely to head to the Eredivise club on Thursday to complete his return to the Netherlands.
West Ham signed the former Utrecht striker from Frankfurt for £45million a year and a half ago but he’s since failed to impress fans and pundits like ex-Hammers striker McAvennie.
“Haller, for me, has not done it. It’s time for him to go, unfortunately. He just hasn’t hacked it in the Premier League,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“He cost a lot of money so cut your losses and see if you can send him back to Europe because it obviously suits him better there than in the Premier League.”
Playing in Europe has certainly suited Haller throughout his career.
Since joining West Ham in 2019, the Ivory Coast international has scored just 10 times in 48 Premier League appearances.
However, at Utrecht, he averaged a goal every other league game by netting 41 times in 82 Eredivisie appearances and at Frankfurt, the striker scored 24 goals in 60 Bundesliga outings.
Haller will surely enjoy life in Amsterdam more than he has done in East London while West Ham fans might be glad to see that David Moyes is serious about strengthening the squad this month.
The Hammers have had an impressive start to the Premier League campaign and currently sit 10th in the standings with 26 points from 17 games. To add a bit more context, they’re just three points shy of a spot in the top-four.
West Ham could have waited around until the summer to improve their squad but it seems Moyes is desperate to strengthen and mount a serious challenge to either qualify for Europe this season or go far in the FA Cup.
We’re delighted to see some ambition and if selling underperforming players like Haller will free up funds to bring in exciting, fresh faces then we’re all for it.
In other West Ham news, Robert Snodgrass is also on his way out of the club.