West Ham have this morning officially confirmed that Sébastien Haller has joined Ajax on a permanent basis.
The Ivory Coast international centre-forward ends his stay with the Hammers after making 50 appearances in all competitions and scoring 14 goals across 18 months, following his summer 2019 arrival from German club Eintracht Frankfurt. The 26-year-old returns to the Netherlands, where he previously spent two-and-a-half seasons with Utrecht.
West Ham United say they like to thank Sébastien for his contribution to the Club and wish him all the best for his future career.
Ajax’s official website confirms that the Dutch club paid 22.5 Euros which converts to £20.27m at current exchange rates.
Claret and Hugh understands that there are no add-ons or sell on clauses and it is a straight transfer fee paid equally in instalments over four years, once per year.
He has signed a four a half year contract to keep him at Ajax until 2025
Haller joined West Ham from Frankfurt for £45m in July 2019 although it is not known whether any of that record fee was in add-ons.
The amount still owed to Frankfurt remain a mystery with a source close to the club claiming it is not as much as previously reported.
Real worry up front now. I guess he had to go but we’ll now be held to ransom by the clubs of strikers we want to buy. Not sure Josh King is the answer, always flattered to deceive for me. Purple patch player, we need more reliability. Obvs can’t rely on Mikey to play out the season, massive risk.
Good luck to Seb. He just wasn’t a good fit for the Prem or for the systems employed by Pellegrini or David Moyes. I always hoped he would come good for us and I think he’s been much better of late but he leaves us with the memories of some outstanding goals. I fully expect/hope (!) David Moyes has someone lined up to come in asap.
Good luck to him. He was unlikely to succeed as he never had the right players around him to make him really tick.
I don’t see the point in buying Giroud though. Buying an older, slower player than the one we just sold doesn’t make any sense to me.
Yes Good Ole Daze. Good luck Seb. West Ham experience not quite as promised but not his fault. Naive in the extreme to buy our way to top level by getting world class manager with his backroom staff to oversee success. We learned the lesson with Avram Grant. But the lesson learned then was that AG & Co had big excuses because they weren’t backed with big-money signings to turn WHU into Chelsea2. So with Pellegrini the mistake was not repeated. It was exacerbated by buying a few high cost players (best available for our budget) and expecting this to guarantee results. Didn’t happen. Nobody happy (except agents and Jack W). Time lost which we could never get back. Never was the fault of Seb Haller and he will now kick-on with his career. Outstanding goals indeed.
We are now doing things the right way. David Moyes and his backroom staff are a quality group who know what they are doing, now what they want to achieve and know how to realistically get there.
Might be that DM hasn’t got someone in mind to come in – just yet. Might be that he would like to see what he already has and how best to use the current players. Maybe Yarmolenko is outstanding at CF. Maybe Snodgrass has a more prominent role to play in side. If we really do need someone short term (18 months or so) how about the likes of Troy Deeney? Bamford or Hugill? These could be the kind we need in immediately whilst we have a bit of breathing space to discover a new Michail Antonio.
I’m happy to leave all of those decisions to David Moyes and the backroom boys. They have outstanding experience and it is that group who have to organise and motivate the playing staff.
Cheers Seb – all the best.
COYI
Just heared BBC news saying Haller cost only £45million for Pellegrini’s side. ONLY? And it is expected that David Moyes will reinvest the £22million West Ham now get for Haller into a replacement. What absolute rubbish!! Why do these ‘experts’ assume football money is all cash earmarked for specifics? Most clubs, West Ham included, are totally in debt. These are businesses run on borrowed money. All of them use their cash to pay interest on loans. Maybe we can reinvest, but I very much doubt that there is cash burning a hole in our pockets. Patience is the virtue. Solid investment is the requirement. Remember our Icelandic owners XL? Solid investment is key – or tears will be the ultimate result.
COYI
sorry to see Haller go , never really given a proper chance with us . wish him all the best
He saved his best smile for Ajax
Another great player destroyed by West Ham, at our cost. Right move, he was never going to work out.