The La Provence newspaper in France reported yesterday that Marseille had contacted Dimitri Payet’s representatives about the possibility of returning to the Stade Velodrome. West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was however quick to dismiss the latest speculation when asked about Payet’s future after the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United yesterday.
Payet left Marseille for £11million to join the Hammers in 2015, but in an interview with a French TV station last month, he said he would not close the door to a return to the Ligue One side. Bilic is quoted by the Evening Standard as saying he doesn’t want to see the club’s best players leave:
“If you’re moving up and moving forward, we want to keep our best players and he’s our best player. We want to keep him.”
Payet’s future has been in doubt consistently since the end of last season with Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain all said to be looking at the 29 year old.
Whether a move to Marseille would be a step up for the Frenchman is questionable. They currently sit sixth in Ligue One and are nine points behind Paris Saint-Germain in third who sit in the last Champions League spot.
