West Ham: Sebastien Haller can be an organization-altering signing

West Ham have surprisingly convinced Sebastien Haller to sign with them instead of potentially waiting for a bigger club to come knocking in 2020, and the former Eintracht Frankfurt star could help the Hammers future outlook change significantly.

There’s no doubt that West Ham United have high aspirations. They envision themselves as a team capable of competing in the top four of the Premier League, which was occupied by Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham. Spots three to five were a murderer’s row of London-based clubs, with Arsenal finishing fifth after a disappointing season.

After losing talented-but-problematic striker Marko Arnautovic, the Hammers have found a replacement. In fact, they haven’t just found a replacement; they’ve found a player who is inarguably better.

Eintracht Frankfurt officially announced that they agreed to terms with West Ham, as they will send their best player, Sebastien Haller, to the Premier League. West Ham had been pursuing Haller ever since it became clear that their top target, Maxi Gomez, preferred a move to Valencia. And Celta Vigo preferred Valencia’s deal, which included star striker Santi Mina.

As talented as Gomez is, Haller may be the better player. Although West Ham will have to reportedly pay 50 million euros and give much of that up front to Frankfurt, Haller showed that he’s worth that kind of money with a stellar 2018-2019 campaign.

Haller scored 15 goals and recorded 9 assists in 29 appearances, totaling 2,181 minutes of action. Ante Rebic and new Real Madrid signing Luka Jovic may have received more attention at Frankfurt, but Haller was the most important player. When he missed a month with an injury, Frankfurt were in disarray.

That’s because Haller was the glue holding together Frankfurt’s attack. Although he’s a prolific goal-scorer who is unbeatable in the air and impervious from the penalty spot, his best traits are his abilities as a target man. Haller is one of the most intelligent strikers in the world, with impeccable hold-up play and link-up play. And whenever Frankfurt needed a goal or a moment of magic in a close game’s waning moments, Haller had the clutch factor to step up.

All of these skills and intangibles make Haller a picture perfect signing for West Ham, to the point where it’s interesting that they didn’t target him sooner. But it’s telling that they were able to convince him to sign, even as BILD and a Frankfurt teammate seemed to indicate that Haller would wait for a bigger club.

This means West Ham was able to successfully sell Haller on their vision of competing in the Premier League one day. Haller is moving from a Europa League team to a team that only finished 10th in the Premier League, but West Ham’s vision – and, likely, significantly higher wages – were sufficient to convince him to make the quick switch to London.

The Hammers desperately needed an ace goal-scorer and a team player at the striker position. Haller’s wonderful eye for a pass and classy technical ability will make him a quick fan favorite and a critical scorer. In Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller, West Ham have two attacking players with legitimate world-class talent, and they are piecing together a team that could one day be dangerous in the Premier League.

Haller’s signing gives West Ham and their fan base hope going into 2019. At 25, the best is yet to come for Haller, who has the quality and football IQ to be a striker who remains productive well into his 30’s. This is a long-term signing that lays the foundation for the Hammers becoming a threat in England, but, of course, they’ll have to make sure they surround Haller with the right pieces in order to reap the benefits.