Newcastle United must learn from West Ham United’s decision to sell Sebastien Haller to AFC Ajax for a £25m loss and consider the consequences of keeping Joelinton in January.

What’s the word?

West Ham agreed a £20m deal with Ajax on Friday to end Haller’s miserable 18-month stay at the London Stadium, having decided that now is the best time to cut ties with their £45m record signing.

Haller offered just 14 goals in 53 games for the east London outfit across all competitions, but his biggest failing was through his inability to lead the line as David Moyes’ solo centre-forward.

Moyes has admitted the Irons were not planning on selling Haller this month but felt obliged to accept Ajax’s surprise offer, as retaining the Ivory Coast international would have risked his side losing even more in the future on the £115,000-per-week dud.

“The Seb Haller situation was simply that we got an offer, we didn't expect it, we weren't planning to lose Seb this window,” Moyes said, via quotes by the Daily Mail. “He's done great for us, he's won a few games recently with his goals, so we wish him well.

“I think it's a really good move for him to go to Ajax and it was something which, maybe if we didn't take this offer now, maybe we would not have got it at a later stage. So, we just felt it was the right thing to do. But it certainly wasn't planned.”

Newcastle chiefs must take note of Moyes’ comments and consider the similarities West Ham faced in Haller’s situation with that of Joelinton, who arrived at St. James’ Park for a club-record £40m just six days after the Irons finalised their club-record deal.

Newcastle must take note

The Magpies’ decision to break the bank for Joelinton has been questioned ever since the Brazilian’s capture in the summer of 2019, having flopped like a lead balloon with seven goals and seven assists in 65 appearances (3 goals in 53 Premier League games) to date.

Steve Bruce has even taken to fielding Joelinton at left-midfield in the search of a way to get the best from the £87,000-per-week forward, notably Newcastle’s top-earner, yet a miserable 45 minutes at Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday saw Alan Shearer unleash a scathing attack on the 24-year-old.

“A lot of money he cost, and he finds it really difficult. His touch is really poor, and he hasn’t posed a threat,” the Toon icon said during BBC Sport’s half-time coverage of the game (9/1, 18:15). “It’s been really frustrating watching him. I actually feel sorry for him because when the ball goes to him, it’s bouncing off him and he’s offering nothing going the other way, also.”

Bruce eventually hauled Joelinton off in the 81st-minute having seen enough from the Brazilian, with the forward offering no shots, just one dribble, one key ball from 14 accurate passes, one cross, and losing nine of his 16 combined duels, per SofaScore.

Mike Ashley is likely to be loath to parting ways with Joelinton anytime soon through fears of the financial hit his exit would bring, but retaining the attacker for much longer could risk Newcastle being met with the eventual circumstances that Moyes jumped at the chance of avoiding with Haller.

Newcastle may even struggle to find suitors willing to sign Joelinton after his Tyneside horrors, which have seen his TransferMarkt value plummet to just £18m.

His value will only continue to fall the longer his struggles persist, leaving the Toon paying out excessive wages on a player who brings little – or nothing – to the table, and it could push the Magpies to a point where they will need to jump at whatever bid will end their nightmare.

West Ham learned that the hard way with Haller, whose market value dropped from a career-high £40.5m in 2019 to £27m before leaving this month for £20m, even having moved to the Premier League boasting a superior track record to Joelinton.

Haller struck 33 goals in 77 games with Eintracht Frankfurt to catch the Hammers’ attention, while Joelinton offered just 11 goals in 36 appearances for Hoffenheim to warrant a £40m move to England.

The Irons have given Newcastle the case study to consider with Haller’s costly departure, which can only be seen as a panicked response much more than a masterclass, it is simply now up to the St. James’ Park natives to learn from it.

AND in other news, a Newcastle gem embarrassed his teammates as Steve Bruce’s only positive at Arsenal.