Haller a good replacement for Arnautovic at West Ham
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Earlier this week West Ham completed the £45million signing of striker Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt. The 25-year-old signed a five-year deal with the club from the English capital.
The forward enjoyed a prolific campaign with Frankfurt, scoring 15 Bundesliga goals and picking up nine assists as his team finished seventh place in the German top-flight table.
Haller also shone in the Europa League, where he also scored five goals as his team suffered defeat at the semi-final stage of the competition.
The former French under-21 is a replacement for the mercurial Marko Arnautovic, who made a move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG. In many ways, Haller will be better for the team.
Arnautovic was obviously talented, but also highly inconsistent and had a massive ego. His presence at the club seemed to disrupt the teams progress at times. There were also major question marks over his attitude at times during his career with the Hammers.
Haller is a very different player. At Frankfurt, he worked hard and proved to be a good foil, for now, Real Madrid star Luka Jovic. He seems much more of a solid citizen when it comes to personality and attitude.
The 25-year-old does not just have a good attitude though, as Haller is a very good footballer. The striker had a decent goalscoring record in both the Bundesliga and the Dutch Eredivisie prior to his switch to Eintracht Frankfurt. With the creative players in the Hammers squad such as Felipe Anderson and Andrey Yarmolenko, Haller could well thrive.
If the Hammers can find some form of consistency next season, then they could be set to enjoy a successful campaign. Having Haller upfront instead of the mercurial Arnautovic may just prove to be the vital difference for the Irons in season 2019/20.