{"id":1098384,"date":"2019-07-19T14:22:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T13:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1098384"},"modified":"2019-07-19T14:22:47","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T13:22:47","slug":"haller-top-six-compared-west-ham","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/haller-top-six-compared-west-ham\/","title":{"rendered":"Sebastien Haller: How West Ham’s record signing compares to the Premier League’s top-six strikers"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Ham have made S\u00e9bastien Haller their most expensive signing after prizing him away from Eintracht Frankfurt.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 25-year-old French marksman has penned a five-year contract, with his former Bundesliga employer subsequently collecting \u00a345m.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7317342-rodgers-has-helped-tick-the-boxes-for-maguire-s-manchester-move<\/p>\n

His arrival, coupled with other key signings, has captured the imagination with many feeling he could propel Manuel Pellegrini’s side to a top 10 finish or even more.<\/p>\n

Since breaking through at Dutch outfit FC Utrecht he’s built a goalscoring reputation, averaging 13 league goals per season, but how does Haller compare to\u00a0Alexandre Lacazette, Olivier Giroud, Roberto Firmino, Romelu Lukaku, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane\u00a0\u2013 the men who lead the line for the ‘big six’?<\/p>\n

Goalscoring<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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The game’s most important art form is goal scoring. Those capable of putting the ball into the net are naturally paid the big bucks. Some of Europe’s best currently ply their trade in England’s top division. And, it goes without saying, they are concentrated in the ‘big six’ clubs. Despite that, last season none of those regularly playing centre-forward shared the golden boot; that honour went to wide-men Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang \u2013 the latter, traditionally a centre-forward, spent much of last season playing out wide.<\/p>\n

That being said, all but Giroud (2) reached double figures in terms of goals excluding penalties. Sergio Aguero (19) took top billing with Haller (12) only behind north London rivals Kane and Lacazette, both scoring 13 goals. When it came to being a ‘fox in the box’ Haller (15) was beaten by Aguero (19) who alongside Kane proved to be dangerous from outside the area. In terms of aerial supremacy, this was Firmino’s domain. The versatile forward bagged four headed goals with everyone bar Lacazette (0) and Giroud (1) bagging two.<\/p>\n