West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has explained the club's reasons for signing Sebastien Haller.

After selling Marko Arnautovic, the Hammers moved quickly to acquire the highly rated target man from Eintracht Frankfurt.

The 25-year-old will lead the line in the Premier League as West Ham aim for a European finish next season.

"We signed Sebastian Haller because we need a striker and he is an important striker for our squad," Pellegrini said about the new signing.

"He had a very good season in the Bundesliga and Haller will play more as a centre forward, but he can also play as a winger so we have another option on the wing.

"When you compare the squad list to last season, we need players in his position. We lost Marko Arnautovic, Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez already this summer.

"So, we needed to find a new one and we have different options now. He is not only a box player, he will play well outside of the box. It will be his first season in England and I know he will be a good striker for our team.

"We also have Michail Antonio and Javier Hernandez [who can play up front] too. I think we are going to have a good squad and now we have to find the right system."