Signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45m in the summer of 2019, Sébastien Haller arrived at West Ham United with tons of expectations placed on his shoulders.
After all, the Hammers were desperately looking for a new striker, and the Ivory Coast International had scored 33 and assisted another 19 for the German side during his 77 appearances there, which made him a prime candidate to bag a few for the London club.
He did, in the grand scheme of things, finding the back of the net 14 times in 54 appearances for West Ham, but it just wasn’t the return the club wanted, and when the opportunity arrived for them to make some of their money back when Ajax Amsterdam came knocking, they took it.
The Hammers sold him for £20m to the Eredivisie side, who couldn’t have hoped for more, as the forward has been magnificent for them under Erik ten Hag, scoring 45 goals and assisting another 16 in 56 appearances in all competitions.
The 27-year-old sat down with Wettbasis over the weekend for an interview, where he was asked about his time at West Ham.
He said: “I was just unlucky with a coach who had a different idea. My style of play just didn’t fit his game system. Accordingly, I was aware that I had no prospects and would therefore hardly be used.
“He needed a different type of striker. Sitting on the bench was not allowed to become a permanent conditions. Then, the offer from Ajax came suddenly, which I saw as a gift. An opportunity that I absolutely wanted to seize and that I have not regretted for a second.”
