Forcing a move away from West Ham last January, Dimitri Payet’s return to Marseille hasn’t exactly been the success many hoped it would be.
In fact, the forward is being slammed across the Channel for his recent performances, having struggled to recapture the form that made him a huge talking point during the 2015-16 season under Slaven Bilic.
For Alexandre Jacquin, La Provence journalist and Marseille expert, the whole thing has been a flop, and something needs to change.
He said, relayed by Foot-Sur7: “For now, it’s a failure. A complete failure is a bit harsh, but it’s still a failure in terms of stats, influence on the pitch, and the captain’s armband doesn’t exactly give him more weight in this team.”
However, for Daniel Riolo, a pundit for RMC Sport, the answer to that question is very obvious.
He said, relayed by Foot01: “How many kilos does Payet have to lose? He’s a €30m transfer. There has to be someone at the club who can tell him he’s about to break the scales? He’s plump like a Turkish Delight. He’s a professional football player.”
It has to be said that when the France international first arrived at Marseille after his standoff with West Ham, he did look a bit overweight, with L’Equipe even publishing a cartoon mocking the forward’s physique.
Back then a lot of the blame was passed to Payet’s West Ham situation, and the player being out of shape put down to Bilic ostracising him.
Since then, little appears to have changed, and with just one goal in 13 appearances so far this season, something needs to.
