Funny trajectory for Sébastien Haller. A little less than a year ago, despite injuries and a substitute situation at Borussia Dortmund, the 30-year-old Ivorian striker made up for it with the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at home. With the Elephants and despite a truncated start to the tournament due to injury, he was invaluable in participating in the third coronation in the history of the Ivory Coast. A good period for him which was followed by complicated last months at Borussia Dortmund where Edin Terzic no longer trusted him.
No longer in Nuri Sahin’s plans, the 30-year-old striker preferred to leave to get playing time. To everyone’s surprise, he then headed to the promoted Spanish Leganés who opened their doors to him at the very end of the transfer window. Arriving as an interesting reinforcement for the club from the Madrid suburbs, Sébastien Haller has so far not had the expected impact. Appearing only nine times for zero goals, he only made six starts and remained in four matches without being fielded. A complicated start to the season for him who failed to establish himself with fifteenth in Liga.
A return to basics for Sébastien Haller?
An observation of failure and a frustration that the main person concerned did not fail to express in an interview for Eurosport France at the beginning of December: “My start to the season was strewn with pitfalls and did not correspond to what I hoped for. But that’s part of the ups and downs of a career and life. I want to say that time will do its work. You have to be patient and continue to work to be more efficient. Because I was bothered by lots of small injuries over a few days. It wasn’t muscular, but more from the blows I received. These setbacks happen every time in moments when I feel like I’m returning to the physical plane. I’ve been in Leganés for three months and I also had to adapt.»
If Sébastien Haller tried to be optimistic and fight, the adventure in Spain could come to an end for the player trained at AJ Auxerre. Indeed, as revealed Sports Bildthe Ivorian striker is already thinking of a change of scenery and returning to a familiar environment. Indeed, he would like to return to one of his former clubs, FC Utrecht, where he stood out between 2015 and 2017 before moving to Eintracht Frankfurt. In the Netherlands, Sébastien Haller played 98 matches for 51 goals and 16 assists. In a good season, FC Utrecht are currently third in the Eredivisie behind PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam but ahead of Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar.
