Borussia Dortmund have signed striker Sebastien Haller from AFC Ajax on a long-term contract. The Cote d’Ivoire international returns to the Bundesliga to replace Erling Haaland, who officially joined Manchester City on the first day of the month.
The Ivorian forward joins the Bundesliga giants in a deal worth around 30 million euros on a contract until the end of the 2025/26 season. He returns to Germany after three seasons abroad; Haller played for Eintracht Frankfurt between 2017 and 2019 before signing for West Ham in the Premier League and later Ajax.
28-year-old Haller left a lasting impact following his club-record 22.5 million euro deal to the Amsterdam side in January 2021. In 66 appearances for the club, he scored 47 goals, winning the domestic title in both of his seasons in the Netherlands.
He netted 21 goals in the 2021/22 Eredivisie, more than any other player. Haller also finished as the third-highest scorer in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League, leading the charts after a remarkable group stage campaign before his side were knocked out in the round of 16 by SL Benfica.
Haller, who will wear the number 9 jersey during his time in Germany, talked by the Signal Iduna Park in his first interview with his new club.
“The stadium is great, but the greatest stadium is nothing without its fans. As part of the BVB family, I can’t wait to feel the support of more than 80,000 spectators in the future. We’ll hopefully achieve great things together in the next few years and be able to celebrate together too,”
he said.
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl was also full of praise for the Ivorian. He complimented his skill-set while claiming that the striker can work as a role model for the club’s budding strikers.
“The overall package is very promising. Sébastien possesses a strong physical presence and he is physically very resilient.
With his experience, he can also offer support and stability to our young attacking players. During the talks with us, he made it clear that he has big ambitions with BVB,”
he said.
Haller becomes Dortmund’s eighth signing of the season, joining Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck, Karim Adeyemi, Salih Ozcan, Marcel Lotka, Jayden Braaf, and Alexander Meyer in North Rhine-Westphalia.
