Why West Ham did well to avoid signing Marseille attacker Dimitri Payet

In January, the L’Equipe (h/t The Daily Mail) had claimed that West Ham were interested in re-signing Marseille attacker Dimitri Payet. However, no deal materialised and he has stayed put at the Ligue 1 club.

Dimitri Payet, 32, spent one-and-a-half seasons with West Ham and performed exceptionally well in the Premier League. At the end of his debut season, he was included in the PFA Team of the Year, and was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining players to watch in the division. However, the Frenchman left the London Stadium three years ago.

Meanwhile, West Ham are involved in the relegation battle this season, having gone winless in their last five league outings. The Hammers managed to sign three players in January – Darren Randolph, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen.

Going by the Hammers’ problems in front of goal, David Moyes did a smart job by signing Soucek and Bowen. Soucek caught the eye on his debut in the 3-3 draw with Brighton and Moyes will hope Bowen hits the ground running quickly too.

Apart from signing a central midfielder and a forward last month, Moyes should’ve also signed a creative playmaker following the struggles of Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Felipe Anderson in the first half of the campaign.

Nevertheless, West Ham missing out on Dimitri Payet was a blessing in disguise. Payet scored 15 goals and provided 23 assists during his stint in the Premier League between 2015 and 2017, quickly becoming a fan favourite at the London Stadium. He returned to Marseille in January 2017 after refusing to play for the Hammers.

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The Frenchman enjoyed a wonderful 2017/18 campaign with Marseille, racking up a superb 10 goals and 23 assists in 47 games. His numbers have dropped drastically since then, however. Payet has scored just seven times and assisted thrice in 18 Ligue 1 games this season. Although that’s a decent return, the attacker is on the decline and is going to turn 33 next month.

Verdict

Therefore, signing Payet would have made no sense. It’s now upon Moyes to help the likes of Anderson, Lanzini and Fornals regain their mojo to change West Ham’s fortunes.