West Ham United are battling for Premier League survival and currently sit perilously close to the drop in 16th place. David Moyes’ side have found the back of the net on the second-highest number of occasions of any team in the bottom half of the table, 35, behind only Everton’s 37. However, just seven of those goals have come from summer addition and £45m record signing Sebastien Haller, and Leeds United legend Danny Mills has revealed how he has been underwhelmed with the striker so far this season.
What did he say?
Speaking to Football Insider, the former Manchester City defender said: “When you’re dominating a game you expect your number one centre forward to start putting the ball in the back of the net and when he does not, you’re like, ‘Come on’.”
The 19-cap former England international added: “Considering the way he started he has been disappointing this season. It has been a shame.”
Recent struggles but an overall impact
The Frenchman has found the back of the net just once in his past ten matches, and he has also scored only once in consecutive games this season. Haller has struggled to put a consistent run together, and there have been two occasions where the striker has gone goalless in eight straight matches.
However, he has four man of the match awards to his name, highlighting how the towering Frenchman is capable of having a decisive influence on proceedings when he is heavily involved. That is proven by the fact his goalscoring and creative contribution have helped the Hammers to earn 16 of their 27 Premier League points throughout the campaign, including four winning goals, against fellow strugglers Watford, Norwich City and Southampton twice, as per WhoScored.
Clearly, Haller is not finding the back of the net as often as in Germany, where he had an excellent strike rate last term, scoring 20 and assisting 12 in 39 matches across the Bundesliga and Europa League, as per WhoScored. But while with West Ham he has made a vital difference to the underperforming side’s season. It is unquestionable that without him they would be in a much worse domestic position.
