West Ham face a tough battle to keep Dimitri Payet in East London as Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain all reportedly join the chase, with Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all interested as well.
According to Spanish news outlet La Vanguardia, Diego Simeone has rejected the chance to join PSG and will instead put pen-to-paper on a contract extension with Atletico, worth €7.5million-a-season.
Simeone’s first act after signing his new deal will be to pursue French ace Dimitri Payet, despite West Ham warning he is not for sale.
Atletico will face fierce competition from Europe’s finest for Payet’s signature. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have both reportedly joined the race in the last 48 hours, while Premier League quartet Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United also hold an interest in the Frenchman.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is said to be an admirer of Payet and was extremely impressed by the 29-year-old’s performance against Romania. La Vanguardia claim Zidane could make an attempt to bring him to the Bernabeu.
After Dimitri Payet lit up the Premier League this past season helping guide West Ham to a seventh place finish and a spot in next season’s Europa League he carried that form into Euro 2016 where he scored a 25-yard belter for France in the 89th minute to secure a 2-1 win over Romania in the tournament opener.
If his form continues, Europe’s biggest clubs will all come calling for the Frenchman which could spark one of the summer’s biggest bidding wars.
