The Hammers are no strangers to dodgy transfer decisions but this one move could prove to be their worst in recent years.
According to the Express, West Ham are considering selling Sebastien Haller in order to fund a move for Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi in the summer.
Haller, a club-record £45 million (BBC) signing from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, hasn’t had the best of campaigns in his debut season but a lot of that was beyond his control.
The Frenchman scored seven goals in 24 starts for the Hammers, which certainly isn’t good enough for a striker who cost the club so much money.
However, Haller has been misused by both Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes, which has made his life a lot more difficult than it should have been.
The 25-year-old thrived for Frankfurt last season, scoring 20 goals and providing 12 assists in all competitions. One of the biggest reasons why he did that was due to his partnership up top with Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic.
The trio had an almost telepathic connection in the final third, causing havoc to the opposition in the Bundesliga last season.
At West Ham, Haller is left isolated for most parts of the game. The Frenchman has rarely received the ball in games and even when he does, there is nobody around for him to link up with.
The Hammers also chose not to bombard the opposition with crosses into the box, where Haller’s aerial prowess could have proved to be a deadly weapon.
That has slightly changed under Moyes but the Hammers boss needs to do more to get the best out of his club-record signing.
If Moyes can push West Ham to play to Haller’s strengths, the Frenchman will bang in the goals and prove that he was worth every penny.
Batshuayi’s record is far worse than Haller’s which makes the report truly baffling but it, sadly, is not beyond West Ham’s board to make a move as strange as this.
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