Football News

“It’s not the money we play for”: Haller goes straight into West Ham fans’ good books

By Mohamed Moallim

Published: 17:24, 26 August 2019 | Updated: 23:28, 20 September 2022

Sebastien Haller says he is not playing for the money after opening his West Ham account in their 3-1 victory over Watford.

The 25-year-old French marksman relocated to east London from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer for a club-record fee of £40.7m.

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Prior to visiting Vicarage Road on Saturday, he’d made his debut in the Hammers’ opening weekend 5-0 humbling at the hands of champions Manchester City.

An injury sustained in that game saw Haller miss the 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion in matchweek two, but he was back to face Watford, and made the first real impact of his West Ham career.

Leading the line for Manuel Pellegrini’s team, Haller bagged himself a brace, scoring twice after Andre Gray had levelled the game following an early Mark Noble penalty.

Naturally to supporters, this was a star-being-born-moment and there’s excitement for upcoming games against newly-promoted sides Norwich City (h) and Aston Villa (a), plus Man Utd (h).

Speaking afterwards, the former FC Utrecht forward couldn’t hide his pride, telling supporters he’s not here to make a quick buck and move along down the road.

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“It’s not the money we play for,” he told the club’s official website.

“The only thing I can do is show the fans that I really want to be here and that I want to succeed for this Club. It was nice to see the supporters today and I’m really happy to give them this confidence back with the goals I scored.”

Haller’s game by numbers v Watford: Five key things to know…

  • Goals: 2 (most)
  • Shots: 4
  • Touches: 44
  • Passing accuracy: 73%
  • Aerial duels won: 7 (most)