Seb Haller can turn his and West Ham’s season around

When Sebastien Haller signed for West Ham for a club-record £45 million last summer, there was an inkling amongst Hammers fans that he may finally be the elite center-forward that they have been crying out for.

Long gone seemed the days of Tweedledum and Tweedledee (otherwise known as Mido and an overweight Benni McCarthy) pulling on that metaphorical number nine jersey, as West Ham had finally invested in a striker that came with a fantastic, and perhaps most importantly recent, reputation.

Coming off the back of a 20 goal season for Eintracht Frankfurt, the transfer was seen as a coup for West Ham, as the club had previously underfunded such a vital position in the team.

During his first few games for the club in pre-season, Haller instantly impressed, most notably for his delicate touch for a man of six-foot-three. The ball was sticking to him like glue, and he certainly proved that he could bring West Ham’s other attacking stars into play.

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This form carried on into the first few games of the season, where after the Hammers defeated Norwich City by two goals to nil at London Stadium, he had a record of three goals in as many matches.

Frequent goals from a West Ham striker have become a rarity over the last decade or so, so things were looking promising, to say the least.

And just like my dreams, Haller’s form started to fade and die. This coincided with the team’s overall form, as they got knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Oxford United while plummeting down the Premier League table with defeat after defeat.

During this run, Haller noticeably started to lack confidence, which resulted in the striker failing to arrive into goal-scoring positions that he had done so well earlier on in the campaign. Of course, there are always two sides to the story and the Frenchman’s case is certainly no different.

There is a case to be made that the service from teammates was clearly lacking, leaving Haller frustrated, and in turn, resulting in a vicious cycle that Manuel Pellegrini and the team struggled to get out of.

That was until last Saturday away to Southampton, where a potential partnership with Michail Antonio was birthed, as they wreaked havoc throughout the match. Haller got his first goal since West Ham’s defeat to Crystal Palace in October, and perhaps even more importantly, looked back to his old self, as he continually brought others into play with his classy hold-up play.

Many argued that Haller needed support, as he was so often left isolated at the tip of West Ham’s attack. With Antonio buzzing around him, it gives him a genuine outlet and brings out the best in both players.

It must be emphasized that it was only one game against a severely disjointed Saints side, but it brings West Ham and Pellegrini a lifeline of what may be to come for the second half of the season.

Haller is a quality footballer, and a barren run of form failed to prove otherwise. West Ham paid megabucks for the 25-year-old for a reason, and fans must now show the same faith that they had in him at the start of the season, if not more so than ever.