West Ham star branded ‘clumsy and unpolished’ as Moyes told he’s made huge transfer mistake

West Ham manager David Moyes has been informed that he’s made a terrible mistake selling Sebastien Haller, with the performances of Michail Antonio given a terrible review from a Dutch football analyst.

The Hammers paid Eintracht Frankfurt a club-record £45m fee to sign Haller in summer 2019. Big things were expected of the Ivory Coast striker, but his time at the club yielded just 14 goals in 54 appearances. As such, Moyes allowed Haller to depart in a cut-price £25m move to Ajax in January 2021.

That exit, however, has left West Ham more than a little light up front. Moyes and Co have been linked with numerous strikers since, but have been unable to add to their pool. Indeed, the likes of Paul Onuachu and Divock Origi have been linked, with one observer stating the former would be ‘perfect’ for the Premier League.

However, Moyes is yet to bring in any cover and competition for Antonio, leaving him as West Ham’s sole attacking option.

After a bright start to the season, though, the goals have dried up somewhat for Antonio. Indeed, in his last eight games for the Hammers, the Jamaica striker has just one goal.

It’s even led Moyes to assess concerns at why the 31-year-old has begun to struggle for consistency.

Haller, by contrast, continues to shine for Ajax. He has 16 goals in 19 games for the Dutch giants this season. Indeed, he boasts an impressive 41 in 50 games in total for the Amsterdammers; now a number of leading clubs are starting to take notice once again.

‘Clumsy and unpolished’

Assessing the upturn of Haller and in comparison to Antonio’s showing against Newcastle on Saturday, Dutch analyst Jan van Halst, has labelled Michail Antonio as “clumsy and unpolished”.

“At the start of the season, he did reasonably well, but not at all in the last few weeks,” Voetbal Primeur cite him saying to Ziggo Sport.

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“He is so clumsy and unpolished. I think this team actually deserves a better striker. One that can hold onto the ball and get you playing.

“Surely Haller is three classes better than this? He’s not in form at all at the moment, either. He totally should be, with his limited technical ability.

“The offering is also mediocre. He not only has hard feet but a hard body. That ball bounces all over the place. I really think it’s one of the weakest positions at West Ham.”

Michail Antonio wants West Ham to sign competition

The Hammers’ quest to sign a new striker has also been welcomed by Antonio himself.

The 31-year-old recognises that all top clubs have two players jostling for each position. And he reckons having competition would improve his own game.

He told The Footballer’s Football Podcast: “People do not understand when I say ‘I want someone to cover for me, I want a striker to come in’ because I am not just thinking about myself I am thinking about the team and we want the team to finish as high as possible.

“The higher the team finishes the better it is for me and the team so to have that cover and not just the cover I want someone to push me, I don’t want someone to be there just for when I cannot play I want someone to push me to make me be better and that is the reason why I want someone in to help me.”

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