Sebastien Haller’s impressive numbers at Utrecht and Eintracht Frankfurt are what led him to a big transfer to the Premier League, as he signed for West Ham United in the summer of 2019.
The striker’s time in London, however, wasn’t the best. He scored 14 goals in 54 appearances for the Hammers, and that ended up with an early exit from the club, making the unusual move to Ajax in January 2020.
It turns out that Haller found success once again in the Netherlands, with great numbers so far, but his failure at West Ham is still seen by some people with a bit of concern.
One of them is Marco van Basten.
Speaking of Haller’s campaign at Ajax, where he has nine goals in five Champions League games this season, the Dutch legend acknowledged the striker’s qualities, and then had to point out that he couldn’t show the same level in English football.
“He played at West Ham, Berghuis at Watford and Tadic at Southampton and they were all not good abroad. They are doing very well now, but the real top ones also do well abroad.”
Van Basten also shared doubts regarding the quality of clubs Ajax have been playing against, as the big challenges in the Champions League are still to come.
“Right away, in the knockout stage, if you’re going to play against the big boys, you have to play far from the goal and have speed. Dortmund were also caught. They played the kind of football that was made for Ajax. It’s about whether he’s suitable to bridge 40 meters as a striker.”
