Dimitri Payet’s sensational return to West Ham is not going to happen, according to a club Insider.
Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg had said that West Ham had been offered the chance to re-sign the 31-year-old attacker from Marseilles.
He claimed Payet’s agents had contacted the club and that it was in Pellegrini’s hands.
The new West Ham manager had even sought out the advice of the West Ham senior players, over a move which Steinberg had said would be “stunning”.
West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Dimitri Payet from Marseille. No, it’s not 2015. Player’s reps have contacted club. Manuel Pellegrini mulling it over and has sought advice from senior players #whufc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) July 6, 2018
It’s come as a surprise partly because of the manner of his departure and also because Payet is thought to be happy in France. Would be a stunning story if it happens #whufc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) July 6, 2018
However, exWHUemployee, a very solid source of West Ham news, has signed the move’s death warrant.
After being asked by a fan whether the deal for Payet was dead, he replied simply, “Yep”.
— ExWHUemployee (@ExWHUemployee) July 16, 2018
OPINION
The idea of Payet returning to the club after the manner of his departure split the West Ham fans down the middle. Some West Ham fans wouldn’t even entertain the idea after he agitated for a move away, in what was seen as hugely disrespectful to the club. However, other fans reminded the naysayers about how good Payet actually was when he was playing for them. They thought an apology and a return to form at the London Stadium would be enough for fans to forgive and forget. Unfortunately, this is one move that isn’t going to happen now. It seems that West Ham have emptied the transfer kitty, spending around £80million on seven new players. Ryan Fredericks, Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko, Fabián Balbuena and Felipe Anderson have all joined and it seems that any further new recruits will be either free agents or loans. Perhaps it’s for the best, although it would have made one hell of a story.