Sébastien Haller made two goals for Ajax on Wednesday in the duel with Besiktas (1-2) in the Champions League. The French Ivorian, who started on the bench in Turkey and came on the field immediately after the break, has already scored nine times in the group stage of the tournament. Together with Robert Lewandowski, he leads the top scorers list in the billion-dollar ball. And to think that earlier this year there were still plenty of doubts about the record purchase of 22.5 million euros.
“What I think is super clever is how stoic Haller has remained after such a tough six months,” says Arnold Bruggink in the General Newspaper. “I’ve already seen him play for Young France and I know the former team manager of Eintracht Frankfurt well. He and technical director Fredi Bobic were very impressed by his personality and mentality as a prof. Haller does everything he can and now it is showing again.”
Haller, 27, is also the top scorer in the Eredivisie for the time being: in thirteen Ajax competition matches, he was good for nine goals. In total, the counter stands at eighteen goals in only nineteen encounters. In his first six months, he was good for 13 goals in 23 matches. The hits in Europe are of course more eye-catching. What is also striking about his goals in the Champions League is that Haller usually strikes in the mouth. “Most top strikers do that. Between five and eleven meters from the goal,” Bruggink told the newspaper on Friday.
“You can throw that second against Besiktas lucky, but that’s not quite it. That’s also instinct of where balls fall. He manages that very well.” The analyst finds it ‘a tad opportunistic’ to wonder whether Haller has suddenly become too good for Ajax. “But I do think that many clubs are now watching and will follow him better and I also think that Ajax can make a good profit on him despite the 22 million euros. He has already been mentioned at Borussia Dortmund as a potential successor to Erling Braut Haaland.”
“The question is whether he should still want that. I think he should especially cherish what he has now, become the top scorer in the Eredivisie and then look further.” Haller, who has a contract until mid-2025, became a record purchase for a club three times in his career. Eintracht Frankfurt paid eight million euros for Haller in 2017, making it the most expensive purchase ever. He was then also at West Ham United, which paid no less than fifty million euros. And until January of this calendar year, Ajax had never spent 22.5 million euros for a football player.