Sébastien Haller certainly does not regret his move to Ajax. The striker, who came over from West Ham United in January 2021 for 22.5 million euros, looks back on his first ten months with the current leader of the Eredivisie in the run-up to the Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. “I’m very happy since I’ve been at Ajax and finally play in the Champions League this season,” Haller said in conversation with the German kicker. The Ivorian international does not want to speak of a step back.
“Maybe at first glance it looks like a step back,” Haller refers to his return to the Dutch competition from the Premier League. “But I don’t feel like I’m not developing, on the contrary.” Haller, who moved from Auxerre to FC Utrecht in 2015 and made the transition to Eintracht Frankfurt after four seasons, sees his move from England ‘more like a step forward’. “I am needed and valued here, which has not always been the case in my career. Having fun and achieving goals are the most important to me now.”
The attacker is currently one of the most accurate players in Europe. In the Eredivisie, for example, he has now scored seven goals in eleven games, while he was accurate six times in the first three group matches of the Champions League. In the first two won group matches against Sporting Portugal (1-5) and Besiktas (2-0), Haller even scored five times, breaking a record. Never before has there been a player who has scored so many times in the first two group matches of the prestigious European tournament. Haller therefore says that ‘a dream has come true’ since he has been active with Ajax in the million-dollar ball this season.
“I was in the semi-finals of the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt, but what I’m experiencing now is an even higher level,” says Haller. His achievements do not seem to have escaped the notice of other clubs in Europe. Posted last month BILD Another thing is that Haller is mentioned as the successor of Erling Braut Haaland at Borussia Dortmund, so the opponent of Wednesday evening, if the Norwegian star player should leave there next summer. The game between Borussia Dortmund and Ajax is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Signal Iduna Park.