David Moyes has been pretty outspoken on his attacking options (or lack of them) in recent weeks so we can only presume that Sebastian Haller is leaving the club to make way for an upgrade.
The Ivorian striker just hasn’t lived up to his early billing since moving to England so it makes sense to move him on, but it turns out it will still be a record breaking fee if that move goes through:
All that’s left for Sebastien Haller to join Ajax is paperwork on Friday. 4.5yr contract in place, €22.5m fee agreed with West Ham, medical done. It will be the all-time record incoming transfer to Holland. W/ @RoshaneSport for @TheAthleticUK #WHUFC #AJAX https://t.co/YBMKmMY2k2
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) January 7, 2021
West Ham minds will immediately turn to who the replacement will be, so it’s definitely exciting news to see that Lyon striker Moussa Dembele has been linked.
He was excellent for Celtic and he’s made some major contributions for the French side in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, but it does need to be said that the deal doesn’t appear to be close at this point:
Moussa Dembele and his representatives have had no contact from West Ham and the striker isn’t thinking of leaving Lyon at this stage. (@SkyKaveh)
Celtic will be due 10% of the profit from any future sale.
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 7, 2021
The Dembele link was also picked up by MSN News who indicated that Lyon had originally asked for £60m when there was interest in the striker during the summer, so West Ham will need to pay a big fee to bring him in.
It’s hard to see him costing anywhere near the £60m mark so it will be interesting to see if an official bid is made, while it’s also worth pointing out that further news does suggest a deal might be possible.
Mundo Deportivo have quoted reports which suggest Lyon have identified Leicester City misfit Islam Slimani as the replacement for Dembele if the moves on so there are some positive signs here.
It’s clear that nothing is imminent and there are a few moving parts here, but the move for Dembele could be slowly coming together.