Ajax edge closer to agreement over signing West Ham striker Haller – report
Ajax are edging closer to an agreement which would see them sign West Ham striker Sebastien Haller this month, according to De Telegraaf.
The Dutch newspaper claims Ajax want to “dig deep” into their pockets to sign the 26-year-old, who has struggled to make an impact at the London Stadium.
West Ham signed Haller from Frankfurt in July 2019 for a club-record deal worth up to £45million [Sky Sports].
However, the Ivory Coast international has since scored just 14 goals in 53 appearances across all competitions and is second in David Moyes’ striker pecking order behind Michail Antonio.
Due to his lack of form in England, the Irons will struggle to recoup the money they paid for Haller a year and a half ago. According to Sky Sports, Ajax’s bid for the centre-forward is “worth less than half” the £45million he cost the London club.
Risky move for Moyes?
It is widely known that the January transfer window is a tough month to add to the squad because clubs are reluctant to sell their best players halfway through a season.
As such, the players who are available may be ones who have struggled to perform – like Haller.
The ex-Frankfurt striker has scored three goals in 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham this season, which equates to 0.27 goals per 90 minutes.
According to Wyscout, Haller’s xG is 0.34 per 90 minutes in the top-flight this term, which shows that he is underperforming and not scoring as many goals as he should be.
Haller’s hit the target with 47.4 per cent of his shots and ranks joint-eighth in the league for his number of headed efforts at goal [8].
Haller also ranks third in the Premier League for the number of aerial duels he’s been involved in this season per 90 minutes [11.5], so he should really be doing a lot better than he has been.
Ex-Hammers striker Frank McAvennie has exclusively told West Ham Zone this season that Haller “contributes nothing to the team” and called on the Irons “to do something in January because they cannot rely on Antonio”.
It seems that West Ham are doing exactly what McAvennie wanted them to do but the question that will linger is who are the Irons going to sign to replace their most-expensive player?
In other West Ham news, Robert Snodgrass is also edging closer to leaving the club.