Dutch icon Pierre Van Hooijdonk has questioned Ajax’s decision to splash the cash on West Ham striker Sebastien Haller.
The Ivory Coast striker completed a €22.5m move to the Amsterdam Arena today after the Dutch giants made a surprise move for him earlier this week.
He joins the club to provide competition to youngster Lassina Traore and veteran Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, with Ajax in need of reinforcements as they compete on several fronts.
Van Hooijdonk doesn’t see the logic in the move, though, believing Haller’s new side were more than well equipped before his arrival.
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s very logical,” he told Algemeen Dagblad.
“With Dusan Tadic in the forefront, they performed great in the Champions League two years ago, resulting in the semi-final.
“And in a packed program you can really play a Eredivisie match with Lassina Traoré, that doesn’t make much difference in the Netherlands.
“Ajax was already a favourite for me; the striker position has not much to do with that. But yes, of course, they are now even wider. As a result, they are a bit away from the competitors.”
Despite questioning the logic of the move, Van Hooijdonk is backing the former West Ham man to be a hit in the Eredivisie.
He arrives at Ajax looking to get his career back on track after a disappointing year and a half with the club.
He moved to the London Stadium as their record signing in 2019 after an impressive spell with Eintracht Frankfurt, where he managed 33 goals and 19 assists in 77 games.
That was something he couldn’t replicate for the Hammers, managing just 14 goals and three assists in 53 games, and Van Hooijdonk has warned the pressure will be on to fix that at Ajax.
“That boy has simply stood his ground in the Bundesliga and the Premier League,” he added.
“Then we shouldn’t start thinking that it’s someone who can’t show it in the top league.
“An Ajax striker is automatically asked whether he is refined enough. You hear that b******t every time.
“You have to judge a striker on his goals, and he will definitely make them. Haller is just a very good striker for Eredivisie level.”
