WEST HAM UNITED playmaker Dimitri Payet has informed the club of his desire to leave and no longer wishes to play for them, manager Slaven Bilic revealed this morning.
Payet, 29, joined West Ham from Marseille in 2015 and had a sensational first season, scoring 12 goals and supplying 12 assists.
But with West Ham lying 13th in the Premier League table and amid speculation linking him with a return to Marseille, the France international has decided he wants out.
“We have said we don’t want to sell our best players, but Dimitri Payet does not want to play for us,” Bilic told a press conference.
But he added: “We are not going to sell him.”
Bilic has asked Payet to stay away from training and said he would not feature in Saturday’s home game with Crystal Palace.
Payet is reported to be the top January transfer target for Marseille coach Rudi Garcia, who previously worked with him at Lille between 2011 and 2013.
The Frenchman’s departure would be a major blow to West Ham and their fans, for whom Payet has become a terrace darling.
After a seventh-place finish last season, West Ham have struggled to adapt to life in their new London Stadium home — formerly the Olympic Stadium — and were thrashed 5-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup last Friday.
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Jesus out I always thought Ivan Toney to Arsenal would of been a good move last season. I think they missed out on him. Getting a good striker let alone a top class striker is hard this time of the year. A loan deal for Ferguson might be a option young hungry striker looking to show what he can do.
@ Richard Parker. Havertz and the making of a top striker are words i thought i would never hear.
I think arsenal and arteta are purely focusing on the champions league this year. Clearly they have no interest in English football, my only concern is Kai Haverts, does he have the killer instinct in front of goal? Still uncertain but one things for sure, he’s got the making of a top striker
@Richard Parker: it’s not uncertain, he’s not going to be a top striker. Timo Werner also has the makings of a top striker but that’s never going to happen because he hasn’t the head for it, same as Havertz and Darwin Nunez. The mental side of the game is very underrated.
@Richard Parker: hopefully they’ll drop like a stone now the other teams have wised up to their corner party piece. Most unlikeable team in the league.
@Setanta O’Toole: who are the other contenders? Are we basing this only on style of play or is it about player’s character?