Next Trezeguet? Why Frankfurt’s “bulldozer” looks tailor-made for Chelsea & France

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Luka Jovic is a name closely associated with Eintracht Frankfurt when we consider top class forwards, but strike partner Sebastien Haller has been making substantially more noise this season.

Haller rose to relative prominence last campaign but has truly excelled in the Bundesliga this term, contributing to more goals than any player in the current Frankfurt squad, including Jovic.

The clinical finisher is a standard-bearer of traditional No 9s, a throwback centre-forward who has become a hallmark of Frankfurt’s scintillating attack.

Under the guidance of Adi Hutter this term, Die Adler have rocketed up to fifth in the league, scoring the third-most goals (50) in the process – only Bayern Munich (62) and Borussia Dortmund (61) better their tally.

This is in no small part thanks to the involvement of Haller in the final third, with the Frenchman directly contributing to 46 per cent of Frankfurt’s league goals (14 goals, nine assists).

But who is this Frenchman threatening to outscore Robert Lewandowski and outdo fellow Frankfurt striker, Jovic, this season? Read on to find out more…

Style of play

At 6 ft 3 in, Haller is something of an old school centre-forward, but he possesses qualities that far exceed the stereotype of his towering presence. At a glance, Haller could appear a rugby prop masquerading as a striker, but when the Frenchman takes to the pitch, it immediately becomes clear just how good he is with the ball at his feet.

Blessed with an eye for goal, power and exceptional link-up play, Haller could be classified as the complete striker; a player who can create a myriad of shooting opportunities for his teammates, but who also has a marked penchant for finding himself in the right place at the right time.

Haller’s hold-up play is also second to none, and one of the main reasons Jovic has flourished at the Commerzbank-Arena this term, with the Frenchman laying it on a plate for him five times already.

An ambipedal forward, Haller is proficient with either foot, and such has been his rapid ascent that compatriot and Juventus legend, David Trezeguet, has even been name-checked as an appropriate comparison – the two clearly share similar traits, not least their near-identical frames – while former coach and current Bayern Munich manager, Niko Kovac, has previously described him as a “bulldozer”.

Humble beginnings

Haller began his career with Auxerre, initially emerging onto the scene as a talented 17-year-old tyro in the 2012/13 season, appearing 18 times but finding the back of the net just twice.

He found more playing time at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps the following season, featuring 28 times, but the goals were still few and far between with just six across all competitions, and he would ultimately leave the comforts of his homeland for pastures new.

A successful loan move to FC Utrecht in 2015 yielded 11 goals in 17 Eredivisie appearances and prompted the Dutch outfit to secure his services on a permanent basis.

And it was here at the Stadion Galgenwaard, under the auspices of now Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, where Haller really started to attract attention and develop into a player of real substance.

He made serene progress in the Netherlands, scoring 40 goals across 81 appearances between 2015/16 and 2016/17, helping the club reach the KNVB Cup final in 2016, and winning the Di Tommaso Trophy award for Utrecht’s player of the year in 2015, encouraging Eintracht Frankfurt to eventually make a move for him in the summer of 2017.

Finding a home

There was some scepticism in the Rhine-Ruhr Region upon the arrival of Haller but he soon silenced the critics by scoring nine goals across all competitions during the first half of the 2017/18 Bundesliga season.

However, that purple patch wouldn’t last too long as he experienced a difficult Ruckrunde, netting just three goals after the winter break as Frankfurt finished eighth in the league, sparking rumours of a possible departure over the summer.

That considered, Haller attracted plenty of plaudits and admiring glances during his maiden campaign, helping the club clinch the highly-coveted DFB-Pokal, at the expense of Bayern Munich, as well as being awarded the Bundesliga Goal of the Year for his acrobatic scissor kick against Stuttgart – a sublime piece of improvisation…

As such, summer appointment Adi Hutter sought to retain his services and he has since become a vital cog in the club’s devastating attacking triumvirate, alongside Jovic and Ante Rebic, proving himself as priceless a commodity this term, with the 24-year-old currently the joint-third highest Bundesliga scorer (14).

France call-up on the horizon?

Haller has already spoken publicly of his desire to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Thierry Henry, and don the famous blue attire of the France national team, but has he done enough to sway Didier Deschamps?

Fortunately for Haller, Deschamps has a propensity to deploy a more traditional centre-forward in his system, be it 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1, hence the prolonged inclusion of Olivier Giroud.

Kylian Mbappe has been largely utilised on the wing, Antoine Griezmann likewise, though the latter has often been used through middle either as the main striker or alongside Giroud.

But with Giroud’s ability significantly on the wane and a distinct lack of playing time under his belt, Haller could be the ideal, like-for-like, replacement to restore vibrancy and introduce a new dimension of physicality, as well as attacking prowess to the France XI.

As an archetypal No 9, Haller is perhaps the perfect Giroud replacement and someone who could assist both Mbappe and Griezmann, as demonstrated with his almost telepathic link-up play with Jovic.

Many feel that with Giroud entering his twilight years and not the force he once was, Deschamps may be tempted to tinker with his tactics and deploy a more neat and nimble forward through the middle. But why change an unbroken system?

Deschamps won the World Cup adopting this philosophy and would be foolish to shuffle the pack when a quintessential No 9 is staring him right in the face.

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Who Haller would suit in the Premier League?

One team immediately springs to mind in the Premier League: Chelsea. With Sarriball yet to truly take off, Haller could prove to be the missing piece in the Italian’s puzzle.

In Maurizio Sarri’s system, the striker must be both capable of linking up play and scoring goals, hence why it hasn’t quite worked out for Olivier Giroud or Alvaro Morata – the jury is still out on Gonzalo Higuain.

Haller’s physically imposing style of play and natural footballing ability make him, quite simply, the perfect Sarri player.

In the Bundesliga this season, no forward has assisted more goals from open play (7) or created more big chances (13) than Haller, showing his expert ability to link play.

The Frenchman has also won more duels (269), as well as more aerial duels (187), than any Bundesliga forward, which is a testament to his work rate and physical stature.

In terms of his goalscoring ability, only Lewandowski has scored more big chances (16) than him (13), but he does possess a better big chance conversion rate (56.52%), shot conversion rate (35%) and shooting accuracy (60%) than the Bayern striker, Jovic and Marco Reus among other big names.

Chelsea recently had a request to freeze their one-year transfer ban rejected by FIFA, which would immediately quash any Haller rumours, but the club remain in the process of challenging their punishment and were they to be given license to sign, Haller could prove a revelation on English soil.

The post Next Trezeguet? Why Frankfurt’s “bulldozer” looks tailor-made for Chelsea & France appeared first on Squawka News.



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