Sebastien Haller leaves West Ham for Ajax with £ 20.25million transfer

Sebastien Haller has officially left West Ham United to join Dutch giants Ajax in a transfer worth € 22.5m (£ 20.25m), ending the international’s stay Ivorian in east London after only 18 months.

Haller signed a four-and-a-half-year contract in Amsterdam until June 2025 and will wear the club’s number 22 shirt, vacated by Hakim Ziyech when he moved to Chelsea last summer.

The deal represents a major financial loss for West Ham, who made Haller the club’s record signing when they accepted a £ 45million package to sign him from Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2019.

He had scored 20 goals in all competitions for Frankfurt in the 2018/19 season, but he managed just seven in his debut campaign with the Hammers and scored seven more in the first half of 2020. / 21 before his exit for Ajax.

Haller had been a regular starter for David Moyes in the Premier League this season in the absence of injured Michail Antonio and scored crucial goals against Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. But those are his only league goals since adding a fourth game against Wolves in September.

This means the 26-year-old has managed just 10 Premier League goals in 48 appearances.

Haller already played in the Eredivisie earlier in his career, scoring 41 league goals in 82 appearances for Utrecht between January 2015 and the summer of 2017. It was his form there that pushed Eintracht Frankfurt to l ‘take him to the Bundesliga.

A statement from the Hammers on Haller’s departure read: “West Ham United would like to thank Sebastien for his contribution to the club and wish him the best for his future career.”

Meanwhile, West Ham will be in action for the first time without Haller on Monday night as they travel northwest to face non-league Stockport County in the FA Cup third round.

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