Borussia Dortmund have turned their attention back to signing Ajax forward, Sebastien Haller. Erling Haaland left the club to join English Premier League Champions Manchester City, and Dortmund are now looking for his replacement. Haaland’s departure was certain, and Dortmund were already looking for his replacement. During the middle of the season, Haller was identified as a transfer target, but a deal for the striker was not possible at the time. Now, Borussia Dortmund have a vacant number nine shirt, and Haller is the most likely option to join the club after winning the Eredivisie with Ajax.
Haller impressed a lot of clubs during the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 season. He appeared in eight UCL matches and scored 11 goals, including four goals in a single game against Sporting CP. The 27-year-old has been getting noticed from that time onwards and now, he is the transfer target of a lot of clubs.
The above viz shows the attacking and creativity stats of the forward. When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar, the better the performance — you can see the league average in the middle, and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. Sebastien Haller was a prolific goal scorer as he netted 11 goals and led the scoring chart in the initial stages of the tournament. The above viz shows that he was ranked very high for attempting shots, converting them, hitting the target and xG per 90 minutes.
Haller led the line for Ajax in the UEFA Champions League. The above viz shows the pass receiving locations of the player. It can be observed that Haller covered a lot of area in the opposition’s half and received a few passes towards the wider sides. He also took some dangerous positions inside the opposition’s penalty box and averaged 5.4 touches inside the penalty box per 90 minutes.
The above viz shows all the 22 shots that were attempted by Haller last season. He managed to hit the target 14 times and convert 11 chances. Haller only scored one goal from the penalty spot, and the rest were scored from very close range by the tall striker. The forward likes to pressurise the opposition defence and goalkeeper with his height, and he is a threat in the air.
Haller can also create threats with his passing. He averaged around 20 passes per 90 minutes and had an accuracy rate of 86.36%. The 27-year-old provided two assists in one of the games played against Borussia Dortmund. Most of the passes were attempted to link up the play, and he also distributed the ball wide to his wingers and made runs inside the penalty box to convert the passes into the box.
The tall striker has already played in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and carries some experience of playing in different European leagues. Haller scored a lot of goals for Ajax in his first season at the club and could be a great addition to Borussia Dortmund’s squad.
