According to The Express, West Ham are eyeing a potential deal for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi this summer, if Sebastien Haller leaves the club.
What’s the word?
Despite arriving for a club-record fee last summer, reports have suggested that Haller could be on his way out of the London Stadium after a difficult debut campaign – the Frenchman has scored just once this calendar year.
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And as per The Express, if Haller does leave, then the Hammers are lining up Batshuayi and Real Madrid marksman Luka Jovic as potential replacements.
The report claims that Haller’s former manager at Eintracht Frankfurt, Niko Kovac, is keen on a reunion with the striker at his new club, AS Monaco.
A GSB disaster
Whilst the Hammers’ reported interest in Jovic is something to get excited about given his goal-scoring pedigree, the same cannot be said for Batshuayi.
The Belgian arrived at Stamford Bridge back in 2016 for a fee in the region of £33m, and there can be absolutely no question that he has not justified that price tag at all.
Despite being on a hefty £90k-a-week wage as well, the 26-year-old has been anything but clinical in front of goal since then. He has scored just 25 times in 77 games for West Ham’s London rivals, whilst the fact he has been shipped out on loan to the likes of Crystal Palace, Valencia and Borussia Dortmund shows just much of a turn his form has taken.
Aside from Paul Merson simply insisting that he is “not good enough”, the late Ray Wilkins even called him a “liability” after a particularly anonymous performance against against Palace. He added: “His movement is almost null and void and when you’re playing in a team like Chelsea, your movement has to be first-class up front.”
The Hammers could do without another well-paid centre-forward who actually contributes very little. And in actual fact, Haller has proven that he is a better striker than Batshuayi this season too. As per Sofascore, the West Ham man averaged 1.4 shots, 0.8 key passes and 0.8 dribbles per game whilst missing six big chances in 32 Premier League games.
On the other hand, Batshuayi played just 16 times in the top-flight, but missed four big chances, and averaged a dismal 0.7 shots, 0.2 key passes and 0.3 dribbles per match. The fact West Ham are supposedly interested in a striker like that just reeks of yet another GSB transfer disaster.