Former Premier League midfielder Rob Lee has claimed recently departed West Ham striker Sebastien Haller ‘wasn’t cut out’ for the Premier League.
Haller remains the Hammers record signing having arrived in east London for £45 million from Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2019 (BBC).
Despite the big fee involved and high expectancy, the move never worked out for the Ivory Coast international, scoring just 14 times in 53 appearances for the club.
David Moyes took the decision to allow Haller to leave the club in January when Ajax came calling, leaving himself short of striking options in the process.
Lee, who played 18 times for the Irons during his playing career, has told This Is Futbol that 26-year-old simply wasn’t of a level for the English top-flight and compared him to a fellow struggling striker.
I called him West Ham’s Joelinton because for me he was very similar and they signed him for a similar price, about £45 million, and he just wasn’t cut out for the Premier League. I’m not sure he was a centre forward, he was just a forward, so where do you play him? I don’t know what people see in these players when they scout them, but he wasn’t good.
Since heading to the Eredivisie, Haller has managed eight goals in 14 league outings, earning an average Sofascore rating of 7.43.
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Unfortunately, it’s hard to disagree with Lee on this.
Although Haller had his moments in a claret and blue shirt, in the main the powerful Ivorian struggled to make an impact in the lone striker role – unable to emulate the work rate and endeavour of Michail Antonio.
That said, cutting losses in January was a risk, one that has proved misguided given Antonio’s current absent status.
