West Ham Interested in Sebastien Haller Replacement
West Ham are reportedly lining up a big-money move for Lyon’s French striker Moussa Dembele when the transfer window reopens.
According to reports across England West Ham are interested in Moussa Dembele who was one of the best strikers in Ligue Un last season. This season Dembele has only started four games for the French giants, though has come off the bench in each of the other five games.
David Moyes is a fan of the former Celtic and Fulham striker and is keen to bring him to the London Stadium. Lyon are apparently keen to sell in order to help their financial state, which has been impacted due to the absence of fans during the coronavirus pandemic.
Reports have suggested the East London side are lining up a £30 million move for Dembele. This fee would make him the clubs third most expensive transfer of all time, only behind Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller.
The Scottish manager could be keen on reinforcing his striker options due to the injury of Michail Antonio. Haller has been leading the line in since Antonio’s injury but is unable to replicate the same impact as the Englishman. This apparent failure of Haller could be pushing Moyes into signing a new striker rather than the defender he wanted so much in summer.
Dembele has a lot more pace than Haller and could be better suited to the team’s current system that Moyes is implementing. The French striker is only 24-years-old and has already shown that he is capable of producing top performances in England during his time with Fulham in the Championship.
Since moving to France, via Scotland, Dembele has become a clinical striker. The frontman has scored 44 goals and provided 13 assists in 102 matches for Les Gones, though he is yet to contribute to a goal this season.
The Hammers would have to compete with Manchester United for Dembele’s signature. Therefore Joshua King could prove to be the cheaper and more realistic option, should they fail to snap up Dembele.
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If West Ham do manage to pull off the big-money signing, it could spell the end to Haller’s time in England. The target man cost the club £45 million in 2019 and would simply further depreciate in value if he was kept on the bench.