Jamie Redknapp was in awe of West Ham United forward Sebastien Haller after he scored his first two goals for the club on Saturday.
The Frenchman was involved from the first whistle as his brace helped secure all three points for the Hammers at Vicarage Road with a 3-1 win.
In his team of the week column for the Daily Mail, Redknapp singled out Haller, and praised the colossus for being able to “silence the critics.”
“That’s why I’m glad two strikers, in particular, showed what they are about this weekend to silence the critics,” explained the pundit.
“Haller scored twice at Watford on Saturday, one a tap-in, the other an overhead kick. They did their jobs and led their teams to their first wins of the season. Now let’s get off their backs and see how they progress.”
The 25-year-old played his part in setting up Manuel Lanzini from the first minute of the game to win a penalty and got his just rewards for his hard work when scoring a brace.
OPINION
After surely being disappointed with how his debut for the Hammers went against Manchester City on the opening weekend, Haller will have been desperate to get back out onto the pitch and show what he is about. The physical presence in and around the box that the Frenchman had simply made him too much to handle for the Watford defence, with his two goals the icing on the cake on a great afternoon. The 25-year-old won seven of his aerial duels in the game, and also had four shots on goal according to WhoScored, and on another day, he could have easily have scored a hattrick. His physical presence also helped players such as Lanzini flourish in the final third, and took some of the pressure off their shoulders in terms of creating chances – with players now knowing they can go long to try and take advantage of Haller leading the line. The Frenchman showed great predatory instinct to secure his goals, and there will be a lot more from where that came from if he continues to get in and around the 18-yard-box this season.
