Pundit delighted as West Ham United set for £6m windfall from Sebastian Haller move to Dortmund
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…
West Ham should be absolutely delighted after it emerged they are due to receive a £6m windfall following Sebastian Haller’s move from Ajax to Borussia Dortmund.
Haller joined Ajax from the Hammers in January 2021, just 18 months after signing in a club-record £45m deal. Part of that reportedly had a 20% sell-on clause, which West Ham are now set to cash in on according to the Daily Mail [June 20, p65].
The Ivorian striker is set to join Dortmund in a deal worth around £29m, which should see David Moyes’ side net about £6m and according to McAvennie that’s the best thing he ever did for the club.
“Brilliant.. good news,” he told West Ham Zone. “It means that he’s done something for West Ham [laughs].
“Listen, he scored some goals but I’m going to be honest with you.. When a striker scores a goal and doesn’t smile, then he probably doesn’t want to be here. That’s my opinion.
“He can score goals, but he couldn’t trap a medicine ball in a phone box. The ball kept bouncing off him.
“He couldn’t retain the ball, couldn’t retain possession. He’s a big lump. I’m sorry but if I was his size and his weight I would be knocking people about. Your presence frightens people. You must be walking out of the tunnel going, ‘he’s hopeless’. Not hopeless as a player, but the size of him, he doesn’t intimidate anyone.
“Put yourself about and the fans will love you. He didn’t want to do that, he wasn’t scoring goals. He didn’t want to do a lot of running. But again you’ve got to say, I’m more [blaming] the recruitment side at West Ham because they must have seen him. [Frankfurt] they played with a 3 up front, a 4-3-3 the team played, then all of a sudden he’s being asked to play up front.
“I give him a bit of stick but it’s not all his fault because he’s never played in a one up front. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh but yeah, if he can get some money for West Ham then I’ll be delighted with that. Thanks very much.“
Haller scored just 14 goals in 54 appearances for the Hammers, but has been sensational since leaving with 47 goals in 66 games for the Eredivisie champions.