Done Deal: Sébastien Haller joins Ajax

One of the first important transfer deals of January and certainly one of the most surprising, Ivorian striker Sébastien Haller is joining Eredivisie giants Ajax in a 22.5 million euros move. The now former West Ham player failed to light up in the English Premier League and now he is coming back to familiar territory in the Netherlands.

The January transfer window has already started and football teams are already making moves. In this regard, Ajax has done perhaps one of the most interesting and weird transfer moves, paying 22.5 million euros to get former West Ham United striker, Sébastien Haller. The Ivorian born in Ris-Orangis, France, failed to live up to the expectations with the Hammers, having cost the club a record fee of 45 million pounds, becoming the club’s most expensive signing so far in their history. Haller only managed to score 14 goals in 54 games across all competitions in two seasons, which is a pittance, considering how much West Ham paid for him.

When it comes to the perspective of Ajax, Sebastien Haller’s signing is definitely a deal that doesn’t follow the club’s leitmotif: they don’t usually make these kinds of investments, focusing more on cheaper deals for senior players and getting the best young talent. Having said that, Haller is proven in the Eredivisie, having scored 51 goals in 98 games across all competitions for Utrecht from 2015 to 2017. Then Haller went to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017, where he would get Europe’s attention due to the partnership he made with current Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic.

Overall, this is a good deal for all parties involved: Ajax get a seasoned Eredivisie goalscorer, West Ham get to recover some of the money they invested and Sebastien Haller gets to play in a team where he is most likely going to have a major role in future seasons, which is great, considering he is only 28-year-old. An interesting yet weird deal because it was done in fairly quick fashion.