With reports from England that Marseille had allegedly given up on signing Dimitri Payet this January, news from France is very different.
In fact, a deal could be done soon.
The attacking midfielder made it clear a few weeks ago he didn’t want to play for West Ham anymore, and despite Slaven Bilic and the Hammers’ board reiterating that selling wasn’t necessary, if the right offer comes along, they are likely to get rid of a player causing a lot of trouble within the squad.
Furthermore, with Marseille’s €30m bid for their former star last week as the basis of the current negotiations, Le Parisien claim both clubs ‘on the verge’ of finding an agreement.
Considering West Ham paid £12.75m for Payet in the first place, selling him for over double that a year and a half later should be considered great business, especially with his 30th birthday approaching fast.
However, looking at how the whole drama has unfolded, if a deal comes through, there’s only one winner in all of this, and that’s Payet getting what he wants.
Marseille end up overpaying for a near 30-year-old, while West Ham lose one of their most influential players of recent times, the fee merely a consolation.
