Latest Transfer News: Dimitri Payet Seals £25 Million Move Back to Marseille

The French international leaves the Hammers based on latest transfer news, merely 12 months after having agreed a new contract with the London club worth £125,000 per week.

(Image credit: Olympique de Marseille)

Having played a total of 60 games for West Ham – in which he scored 15 goals overall – Dimitri Payet rejoins his former club Olympique de Marseille for a £25m fee, according to the latest transfer news. This will see the London club get nearly double what they paid for the 29-year-old only 18 months ago, but will leave them with a headache of replacing a player of his calibre, with only a day left in the January transfer window.

Earlier in the month Payet refused to train with the Hammers, latest transfer news reported, which helped him force through his move back to Stade Velodrome where he plied his trade for two full seasons before joining up with West Ham.

With the appointment of new boss Slaven Bilic – former Hammers player himself – in the summer of 2015, Payet was soon afterwards unveiled as one of the first signings, with a transfer fee believed to be around £12.75 million from Marseille.

Payet – who was awarded with an improved five-and-half-year contract (£6.5m per season) midway through last campaign for his strong performances – has received backlash for his forced move to the French Riviera from West Ham co-chairman and majority owner David Sullivan.

“The club would like to place on record its sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the club and fans showed him, particularly when it rewarded him with a lucrative new five-and-half-year deal only last year,” stressed the club’s co-chairman.

West Ham will now be tasked with finding an adequate replacement for the man that helped them seal seventh place in the Premier League last season, which saw them finish above the likes of Liverpool (8th) and Chelsea (10th).

Despite the Frenchman’s latest transfer news, the club may have anticipated that his departure was a possibility in the current transfer window, so they might already have potential players lined up to fill his position. However, the problem is there is only way day left in the January transfer window, with it closing at 11pm GMT on January 31. (Keep track of the last-minute deals with Betting Herald’s latest transfer news.)

After 22 rounds in Ligue 1, Marseille sit in 6th position on the table with 33 points – a staggering 16 points behind leaders Monaco. With more than half of the games having already been played in the current campaign (2016/17), it’s hard to see them reach the top positions of the league that would enable them to qualify for European competitions next season.

Payet is not the only high profile transfer for the French side in the winter transfer window. Last week, Marseille signed former Man United defender Patrice Evra from Juventus on an 18-month deal, after the Italian club agreed to release him for free, according to BBC Sport. Additionally, the French side have also boosted their squad with the signing of 22-year-old midfielder Morgan Sanson on January 17 from Montpellier.

The recent influx of talent at the Stade Velodrome is the due to the financial pledge made by the new American owner Franck McCourt – a popular sports owner figure in the USA, having served as the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers between 2004 and 2012. After taking over Olympique de Marseille in October 2016 for a sum of €45m (£40.6m), he announced his intention to invest €200m (£180m) in the club over the following four years.

West Ham’s fortunes haven’t been great this season as well, and to add to that the latest transfer news surrounding Payet’s departure are only set to dampen the club’s spirit and battle to emulate the performances of last season. It’s safe to say the decision to move from the iconic Boleyn Ground to the new 60,000 seat London Stadium (Olympic) has cost them dearly in terms of results on the pitch, as the squad is yet to get settled in new surroundings.

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