West Ham United have tried and failed on a number of occasions to find a star number nine to lead the line and consistently fire in goals at Premier League level over the years.
In January 2017, The Guardian pointed out that David Sullivan and David Gold had brought in 32 strikers during their seven-year stint as owners of the club, at that point, and they had managed a combined 128 goals in 643 matches in all competitions.
How much did West Ham sign Haller for?
The Hammers splashed the cash in an attempt to end their striker curse in the summer of 2019 as Haller was brought in from Eintracht Frankfurt for a club-record £45m but they ended up having a mare with the Ivory Coast international.
West Ham's five most-expensive number nine signings (excluding Haller):
Player
Fee paid
Gianluca Scamacca
£24m
Marko Arnautovic
£19.1m
Javier Hernandez
£15.3m
Andy Carroll
£15m
Enner Valencia
£12.9m
Fees via Transfermarkt.
Manuel Pellegrini and the club must have been confident that the French-born centre-forward had the requisite quality to be a huge success at the London Stadium as they were willing to spend a record transfer fee to secure his services from the German club.
Why did West Ham sign Haller?
The Premier League side snapped him up after he enjoyed two impressive seasons with Frankfurt in front of goal after his move to the club from FC Utrecht in 2017.
He produced 13 goals and seven assists in 36 matches in all competitions throughout his debut campaign, which included nine goals and four assists in 31 Bundesliga matches.
Haller followed that up with 20 goals and 12 assists in 41 games for Frankfurt during the 2018/19 season, which included 15 goals and nine assists in 29 outings in the German top-flight.
The 6 foot 3 finisher only missed 13 'big chances' in total – to go along with his 24 goals – across the two Bundesliga terms as he rarely spurned good opportunities in front of goal.
His form in Germany came after a prolific spell in the Netherlands with FC Utrecht. The excellent marksman racked up an eye-catching 51 goals and 16 assists in 98 matches for the Dutch side – more than one strike every other game.
Interestingly, Haller came close to sealing a move to another Premier League club in January 2016 as Norwich City reportedly agreed a £6.5m deal with Utrecht for the young number nine.
However, the player decided against a switch to Norfolk despite traveling over for a medical and ended up staying in Holland before his transfer to Frankfurt 18 months later.
How many goals did Haller score for West Ham?
Haller's exceptional form for Frankfurt and Utrecht convinced Pellegrini and West Ham to make him the most expensive signing in the club's history but he was unable to live up to the hype.
The towering forward scored 14 goals in 54 matches for the Hammers in all competitions as he failed to offer a consistent goal threat that befitted his price tag and his performances in Germany and the Netherlands.
He scored seven goals and assisted one in 32 Premier League games during his debut campaign in England during the 2019/20 season. In that time, Haller only completed 66% of his attempted passes and lost 52% of his duels, as per Sofascore, as he struggled to be a reliable outlet at the top end of the pitch.
The Ivorian finisher followed that up with three goals and zero assists across 16 appearances in the English top-flight throughout the 2020/21 term. He averaged a pass success rate of just 64% and lost 56% of his physical contests in those matches, as per Sofascore.
No outfield player with at least one Premier League start for West Ham completed a lower percentage of their passes than Haller did throughout the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign.
This shows that the former Frankfurt star struggled badly in general play as he gave the ball away far too frequently whilst not making up for it by being a prolific scorer in the final third.
How much did West Ham sell Haller for?
West Ham eventually decided to part ways with the £45m addition in January of 2021, after 18 months at the club, for a reported fee of £20m as Ajax swooped in to secure his services.
This means that the Pellegrini signing's value plummeted by a staggering £25m in less than two years at the London Stadium as his less-than-impressive Premier League performers did not allow them to recoup anywhere near the club-record fee that they spent to sign him in the summer of 2019.
Therefore, the former Hammers boss and the club had a huge mare with their swoop to sign the 6 foot 3 titan from Frankfurt as he ended up being a big flop with his lack of goals and decreasing value.
Where is Haller now?
Haller has, however, revived his career since moving away from England. The giant striker became an instant star at Ajax as he produced 11 goals and five assists in his first 19 Eredivisie appearances for the Dutch giants.
His impressive form continued throughout his spell with the club as the French-born ace ended his time there with 47 goals and 16 assists in 66 outings in all competitions.
That led to a reported €34.5m (£29.6m) transfer to German side Borussia Dortmund in 2022 and the ex-West Ham flop has amassed 11 strikes and five assists in 26 games for them in all competitions to date.
These statistics show that the 29-year-old marksman, who was once described as a "handful" by former Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith, has the quality to be a lethal and consistent goalscorer at the top level.
He has proven himself at four different clubs in Germany and the Netherlands but was not able to showcase the best of his abilities in England, whether that was down to the team around him or a struggle to adapt to life in English football.
Either way, West Ham had a mare with the £45m club-record signing as they made a staggering £25m loss on him within the space of 18 months and did not get much back in the way of goals on the pitch.
