Arriving for a great sum of £45m last summer, huge expectations were placed on Sébastien Haller’s shoulders at West Ham.
The French striker was seen as the star answer to their seemingly everlasting striker issue at the London Stadium, but seven goals in 32 league appearances simply didn’t do the trick.
While a regular starter during the first half of the season, Haller struggled for game time following the Covid-19 break, which has trickled through into the current campaign.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt player has started regularly in the EFL Cup, scoring four goals in three games, but has yet to be included in the original XI in the league by David Moyes, and according to Téléfoot Chaîne in France, Marseille considered taking advantage of that in the final few weeks of the transfer market.
The news comes from one of their journalists, Simone Rivera, who explained the Ligue 1 club mandated an intermediary to find out more about a potential deal for Haller.
That initial enquiry is said to have gone well, with all three parties reportedly interested in the deal, including West Ham who ‘could have opened the door to an exit’.
However, the financial side of things made a possible agreement very tricky, especially Haller’s wages, and even a loan with a view to buy was difficult.
That being said, Rivera explained it’s an idea, and it’s one Marseille could turn to again down the line if their economic status changes a bit.
For now, though, Haller is a Hammer and he’ll be staying that way until at least January.
