Sebastien Haller has landed West Ham United in trouble as the world football governing body, FIFA, has announced that the football body has launched an investigation into the transfer deal that brought him to West Ham United from German Bundesliga club, Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 26-year-old French centre-forward joined West Ham United from Frankfurt on 17 July 2019 as the club’s transfer record signing. He signed a 5-year deal which worth €50 million. The German Bundesliga club sold the promising striker to West Ham two seasons after they bought him from FC Utrecht for just €7 million. While in Germany, Sebastien won DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt.
According to reports, the Premier League club, paid 75 per cent of the €50 million before Sebastien Haller joined the London club. West Ham United was meant to pay the remaining percentage in instalments. The club ought to have paid the last set of the payment on May 15, 2020. However, the club failed to meet up with the agreement.
“We can confirm that we have received a claim from the German club Eintracht Frankfurt against English club West Ham United. The matter is still being investigated and consequently, we cannot provide any further comments”, FIFA said in an official statement issued on Friday.
Sebastien Haller: West Ham United Has Agreed that they are owing Eintracht Frankfurt
In the other hand, West Ham United have reportedly admitted that they are still owing the German Bundesliga side and they are working on ensuring that the crisis between the two clubs is dealt with. But no further details about the deal have been provided due to “commercial confidentiality”.
If FIFA finds any abnormalities in the whole process, West Ham United could be slammed with a ban on the transfer market or a more stringent sanction.
Since Sebastien Haller joined West Ham United in the summer of 2019, the French centre-forward has played for the Premier League side 29 times, scoring only 7 goals and making 2 assists for the relegation-threatened club. He is currently recovering from an injury.
The last time the Frenchman played for West Ham United was in the first game of the club when the Premier League returned from the coronavirus break. He was among the players that got injured after the 0-2 lost to Wolves on 20 June 2020.
He was not available for selection when West Ham lost 2-0 to Tottenham and when the club stunned Chelsea football club 3-2 on July 1. The striker is likely not to be available for West Ham meeting with Newcastle United on Sunday.
