When it comes to getting West Ham news fast, there are few that provide accurate information as frequently as ExWHUEmployee.
In his latest exclusive transfer column on The West Ham Way, Ex has shed some light on the Dimitri Payet situation at West Ham – what was said and what the fall out is.
Payet’s demand to leave the club in January originally surfaced in the summer behind the scenes after being denied a transfer following an impressive Euro 2016 campaign with France.
To sweeten the deal for him, West Ham paid the 29-year-old a £1m loyalty bonus to stay put at the club during the summer transfer window hoping this would put an end to it all but it unfortunately didn’t work.
Following the Brexit vote, Payet even demanded another wage increase at the club claiming that the devaluation of the pound was costing him a significant amount of money. Many players in the squad were rubbed up the wrong way by these demands and Cheikhou Kouyate had to speak to Payet privately for him to drop these demands as everyone was in the same boat.
After Euro 2016, Payet was given an extended break from first-team activities to recuperate, not an unusual thing, but he continued to skip training sessions without consent which, again, strained his relationship with players and coaches who were in every day putting the hours in for the good of the team.
His attitude in training sessions has deteriorated throughout the season to the point where he’s barely interested. While his performances this term have not been on par with those of last season, they’ve been good enough for the first-team staff to hold fire on publicly shaming Payet for his attitude issues.
It’s been reportedly recently that Payet wants a move back to France for family reasons. He’s based himself in Loughton and it’s understood that his wife and children have failed to settle in the area and have moved back to France as a result.
This might have put a strain on the family relationship and prompted Payet to force his hand and seek a move back to his homeland after reports surfaced that Marseille were eager to resign the player just 18 months after selling him to West Ham.
There was an agreement at the club that Payet would stay until the end of the season before having a move sanctioned, however, he’s now gone on strike by saying he’d never kick a ball for West Ham again, prompting the club to fine him for a breach of contract.
West Ham’s activity in the transfer market in the summer was done with a view of keeping Payet happy. Andre Ayew, a former team-mate of his at Marseille, was brought in and this was done in part to help keep the Frenchman happy. Another former team-mate in Michy Batshuayi was targeted by we know how that one played out.
A meeting was called on Monday by the board of directors with Slaven Bilic to discuss how the club handle the situation that was brewing. As manager and the face of the club, Bilic was tasked with dealing with the issue head-on in Thursday’s press conference.
As a result, Payet’s been banished from all first-team activities until his stance on the matter changes but that is unlikely to happy. Whether he is sold this month remains to be seen but West Ham do have a high price-tag on him which would need to be met in full.
We are delighted to announce former captain Steve Lomas as our next guest on the 14th January.Get your tickets here https://t.co/MG2tq6gjgp pic.twitter.com/XY4bAxCz8n
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) January 3, 2017
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