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Marseille aren’t scared about being open in their wish to take Dimitri Payet back from West Ham United. The story started with leaks to the French media, and it seemed to be either the French club or the West Ham player behind the pushing of the story.

With Slaven Bilic making it clear Payet has asked to leave, and is actively pushing to be allowed out in the January window, West Ham had to do without the player this weekend but it didn’t seem to matter one bit as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0.

Franck Passi, who has been associated with Marseille for a long time, and who was recently the club’s caretaker manager, has been speaking to Canal Football Club, via Le10, about the Payet situation.

Payet is thought to have a stormy relationship with Florian Thauvin, but Passi doesn’t think that will stand in the way of a transfer: “His relationship with Florian Thauvin? The years go on and things aren’t necessarily the same. Florian has shown a lot since the beginning of the season. If Dimitri Payet comes back, it’s to blend into a collective.

“We cannot talk about investment. On a 30-year-old, there is no return on investment. We can only hope that OM returns to the Champions League. If you want to get results, it’s hard to bring in a young player. It takes an experienced player. If we talk about Dimitri, Ligue 1, he can do that.”

Before Payet does anything at Marseille, the club will first have to come up with an amount of money which makes it worth West Ham going back on their word and selling the player.