West Ham striker Sebastien Haller was pretty anonymous despite playing the full 90 minutes in the 3-3 draw against Brighton on Saturday.
The Frenchman did not have a shot of note, and his inability to make an impact of proceedings has led to increasing concern among supporters on Twitter over whether they got value for money when the club paid £45m for the player in the summer:
Poor mans Andy Carroll
— Birdy (@happyhammer25) 1 February 2020
He didn't even get close to having a chance, let alone a goal.
— Chris Burrell (@deanashtonsfoot) 1 February 2020
Time to drop him and try something different. Playing Haller is like playing with 10 men!
— Tony Monk (@tonymonkwhu) 1 February 2020
He’s lazy, doesn’t make any effort to challenge anything. Doesn’t fit in with our team, not all his fault but could look a bit more interested
— JulieMerch68 (@JulieMerch68) 1 February 2020
He’s only strength is sticking his leg out
— kev (@kevin_suddell) 1 February 2020
Getting fed up of people saying we don’t play to his strengths…… he doesn’t move , chase, put any effort in , he could start with that regardless of how we play
— Peter goulding ⚒ (@Goulding1Peter) 2 February 2020
Did we keep the receipt
— ⚒⚽️MASON⚽️⚒ (@loaded1weapon) 1 February 2020
Should've sold him in jan
— ⚒ (@Essiere_14) 1 February 2020
What do you think the ROI is gonna be on him?
— ⚒IronMikeWHU⚒ (@IronMikeWHU) 1 February 2020
I wouldn't be surprised if he has already packed his bags for next year.
— Tommy Balowski (@BarrytheBaptis1) 1 February 2020
A return of six goals in 26 appearances isn’t what fans were expecting when the Hammers broke their transfer record for Haller back in July. There have been some mitigating factors in that he has not been given sufficient support or the right service that plays to his strengths.
However, it has become increasingly apparent that he lacks the work rate required to be playing as a frontline striker in the Premier League. Whether his confidence is low or not, the bare minimum fans ask for is for players to put in a shift, and Haller will have to do a lot more if he wants to keep his place in the side.