West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed that midfielder Dimitri Payet is close to signing a new contract with the club.
The Frenchman only signed for the Hammers in the summer, moving from Marseille for an undisclosed fee.
He signed a five-year deal with the club, but his outstanding performances this season have seen him linked with other clubs, so West Ham have decided to act now and give him a better deal in order to keep him at the Boleyn Ground.
Reports indicated that an unnamed Chinese club were prepared to pay £38m for the 28-year-old, whilst Chelsea and Manchester City have also reportedly shown an interest in signing him.
However, speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Hammers’ trip to Norwich City this weekend, Bilic told reporters that the French international is close to signing a new and improved deal with the club.
He said:
I think we are very close to Dimitri signing a new contract. Both parties have the same intention and that is to stay at West Ham. If you are playing like he is playing, many clubs will show interest, but we are going to do everything we can to keep him with us.
Bilic did acknowledge that every player does have a price but said that he has no intentions of selling Payet.
Every player has a price, but he is happy at West Ham, we are more than happy with him and I hope and I think he will stay with us for a long, long time.
