Sebastien Haller: Former West Ham and Dortmund striker joins Sanfrecce Hiroshima on free transfer

Sebastien Haller has completed a move to J1 League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima on a free transfer from FC Utrecht on 6 July 2026, according to transfer data. The 32-year-old centre-forward arrives in Japan with a current market value listed at 1 million and becomes a new attacking option for the Hiroshima club.

Haller joins Sanfrecce Hiroshima from Utrecht, where he had been playing in the Dutch Eredivisie. His switch to Japan follows a permanent return to Utrecht from Borussia Dortmund in August 2025, a move that came after an initial loan spell from the Bundesliga club earlier that year.

Born in Ris-Orangis, France, on 22 June 1994, Haller is a right-footed striker standing 1.90m tall and is listed with nationalities for both Cote dIvoire and France. He is now registered with Sanfrecce Hiroshima as his current club, with the latest transfer data scraped on the same day his move was completed.

The transfer marks the latest step in a career that has taken Haller through several major European leagues. Before returning to Utrecht, he was on the books at Borussia Dortmund, having joined the German side from Ajax in July 2022 after a spell in the Eredivisie with the Amsterdam club.

Prior to his time at Ajax, Haller played in the Premier League with West Ham United, moving to the English club from Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2019. His rise to the Bundesliga had come via an earlier stint at Utrecht, which he first joined from French side AJ Auxerre in 2015 after progressing through the Auxerre youth system.

Hallers market value peaked at 45 million during his time at West Ham in 2019 and has gradually decreased in recent years, with successive updates showing declines during his periods at Dortmund, CD Leganes on loan, and then back at Utrecht. His latest move to Sanfrecce Hiroshima is recorded without a transfer fee.

Sebastien Haller is now officially registered as a Sanfrecce Hiroshima player in the J1 League.