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West Ham tempted to sell club-record signing Sebastien Haller as £40m replacement eyed
West Ham are considering selling club-record signing Sebastien Haller to fund a raid on Chelsea.
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West Ham United are considering off-loading club-record signing Sebastien Haller after just one season at the London Stadium. The Hammers are looking to cut costs and could be tempted into selling Haller, who cost them £45million from Eintracht Frankfurt. The former French under-21 international has struggled to settle in London and has only scored seven goals in 29 appearances.
David Moyes is looking at his options for next season, and the club could listen to offers for Haller despite his value likely to have dropped.
Haller had attracted the interest of Manchester United before he moved to the Hammers, but they have other targets in mind for this summer.
They could sell Haller to fund the purchase of Michy Batshuayi, who is out to leave London rivals, Chelsea, this summer.
Chelsea want £40million for Batshuayi who has been a Hammers target for the last couple of summers.
Haller has rejected suggestions that the pressure of being the club’s record signing has impacted his form.
“It (the move) happened because I had the opportunity,” he said.
“It was perhaps logical for me to go to West Ham after all I have experienced in Frankfurt. That (the burden) depends on the perspective. If you are successful, everything is fine.
“If you miss your goals, you get criticised. The only thing you can do as a player is to use all your strength and energy. That depends on yourself.”
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Haller could have a chance to prove himself if the Premier League returns from the coronavirus suspension - but he is sceptical about playing matches behind closed doors.
“To be honest: It’s a completely new situation, everybody knows that,” he said.
“Because of the time pressure, it is complicated to end the current season and start the new season in a normal way. The most important thing is the health of everyone.
“There is also the possibility to play without fans – but that is not the reason why we decided to play for this club.
“Ideally, you want to play with the fans, with the atmosphere and all that goes with it.”