Throughout this week West Ham’s potential move for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller has been heating up.
The Hammers moved quickly for the striker once they missed out on Maxi Gomez and, after initial reluctance, it seems they’re close to getting their man.
We reported earlier today that Haller had wanted a Champions League club but his agent Willie McKay had ‘unusual persuasive power’ according to L’Equipe and was convincing his client on the move.
Indeed, the French newspaper reported the two clubs have an agreement at €40m and contract negotiations are now underway. Frankfurt have also started to look for a replacement, suggesting the move was closing in.
It looks like that would be news to Eintracht boss Adi Hutter, though, who in an interview with Sport Bild seems to suggest a deal is yet to be done.
“It is the decision of the player. He might say, ‘I might want to leave the club because the complete package is right’. He would already be one big loss for us.”
“It’s all about whether or not there is agreement when the clubs are put together. That’s all still in the balance.”
That last part would suggest the deal is not quite as completed as first thought. ‘In the balance’ is certainly not a sentence one would use to suggest a deal is close to being done.
There’s a chance there’s still some hesitation on both parts. Frankfurt would be reluctant to lose Haller, given the already lost Luka Jovic this summer, and may be trying to tempt him to stay.
Likewise, the striker doesn’t seem that keen on the move, with the agent pushing for it more than most, so perhaps Frankfurt are playing on that to convince him to stay.
Either way, it seems West Ham still have some work to do before they can tie this deal up and move on. After the disappointment with Maxi Gomez, they’ll be keen to do that sooner rather than later, that’s for sure.
