Finally, some clarity from Borussia Dortmund on the future of former West Ham United and Premier League hitman Sebastien Haller.
Well, what future?
The Ivory Coast international certainly doesn’t appear to have much of one at Signal Iduna Park.
Six years since West Ham United paid £45 million to make Sebastien Haller their record signing, the former Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt man was conspicuous by his absence when Borussia Dortmund named their Club World Cup squad earlier this month.
Just like at Stamford Bridge – where Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca omitted Djordje Petrovic from his roster amid interest from the Hammers – it is no coincidence that Haller joins the similarly out-of-favour Youssoufa Moukoko in being left at home.
A decision made, it seems, to give both players more time to find a club willing to offer them the kind of opportunities no longer present at the 1997 Champions League winners.
As sporting director Sebastien Kehl explains, ‘there are issues’ in the Dortmund squad. High among them being a high-earning centre-forward who spent last season on loan at FC Utrecht, and now finds himself under pressure to locate a permanent home.
Sebastien Haller before VfB Stuttgart v Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga
Photo by Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Former West Ham United striker Sebastien Haller to leave Borussia Dortmund
Sebastien Haller was briefly a man reborn in the Eredivisie. Back at the club where he made his name a decade earlier, 30-year-old Haller scored in three successive league matches in April.
A run which included a 4-0 trouncing of Ajax. A stunning result which accelerated the remarkable collapse of Francesco Farioli’s runaway leaders-turned-devastated runners-up.
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Haller earns a reported £160,000-a-week at Borussia Dortmund, however. Wages which, as Utrecht director Jordy Zuidam explains, make a permanent return to Enschede highly unlikely.
Dortmund, then, must find a solution. A difficult task, unless Haller is willing to drastically reduce his weekly pay packet.
“Of course, there are issues within our squad,” Kehl told reporters after Dortmund kicked off their Club World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw with Brazilian outfit Fluminense.
“There are players who aren’t currently involved [Haller, Moukoko and midfielder Salih Ozcan], and they are obviously being discussed.
“Nevertheless, things are still quiet in many areas. Maybe something will happen in the next few days. Let’s wait and see.”
Haller happy to be back playing after Eredivisie return at Utrecht
West Ham sold Haller to Ajax after just two years, 48 Premier League games and a mere ten goals.
He was a revelation under Erik ten Hag in Amsterdam, famously scoring a remarkable 11 times in just eight Champions League matches during the 2021/22 season.
A big-money move to Dortmund was his reward, though a cancer diagnosis meant a stricken Haller had to wait six months to make his debut in the yellow and black shirt.
“Obviously, the last 18 months have been challenging for me and my family,” Haller told Reuters recently, understandably keen to focus on the positives even as his football career is yet to reignite. “I now take everything step by step and try to enjoy every moment. I don’t want to have any regrets.
“Given what has happened over the last months, it’s great today to be here in front of you and speak. But I think it might take months or years to take it all in, what has happened over the last years.”