West Ham star Dimitri Payet has stated that the allure of playing in the Premier League and being impressed by Slaven Bilic were the key reasons in moving to the Boleyn Ground last summer.
The France international midfielder has been a revelation in his debut campaign in English football and has spearheaded the Hammers’ drive towards the top four this season.
Payet’s form has led him to be selected in the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year accolade, while the former Lille and Marseille attacker is now a critical member of the London club’s first team.
The 29-year-old has admitted that he could have moved to other clubs across the continent, but a switch to West Ham was the ideal option for him.
“Other clubs did get in contact, but it didn’t go further than that,” The Daily Mail quote Payet as saying.
“My choice was to come to West Ham, mainly because I’d spoken to the manager.
“Speaking to the coach has been my number-one criterion at every club I’ve played for to find out what he expects from me, how he will make me improve and that he’ll play me.
“West Ham was the best choice for me on the back of my best season in Ligue 1. I don’t think there was much room left for progress in Ligue 1. I’d done almost everything there.
“Coming to England to play in a different league under a coach who already wanted me when he was at Besiktas… I understood that I’d be an important player for him and a club like West Ham that, as you said, is not one of the biggest, was the best platform for me to continue my development.”
Payet is set to star for France at Euro 2016 this summer and has been linked with a big-money move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, which is a testament to just how well the playmaker has performed this season.
