‘West Ham idolise Payet, they simply won’t sell him’ – Redknapp

Dimitri Payet: Nominated

Dimitri Payet: Nominated

West Ham will resist all offers for French superstar Dimitri Payet this summer, according to former Hammers boss Harry Redknapp.

Payet, who is currently on international duty with France at Euro 2016, took the Premier League by storm last season after joining West Ham from Marseille for a bargain £10.9million.

With Payet shining at the European Championships – with two goals in his first three games of the tournament – the Hammers hierarchy will no doubt be bracing themselves for offers this summer.

The player has been linked with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City in recent days – with the Hammers responding by placing a £60million pricetag on the 29-year-old’s head.

However, Redknapp thinks the owners will hold onto their prized asset despite reports of interest from some of Europe’s biggest sides.

“I don’t think they’d sell him. West Ham have a new stadium, 60,000 stadium, Olympic Stadium, sold 50-odd thousand season tickets,” he said.

“David Sullivan, David Gold, they aren’t into selling that club, it’s worth a fortune. They won’t be short of money, I don’t see a reason why they would sell their star player.

“The fans idolise him, he has become a superstar with the West Ham supporters, probably the biggest crowd favourite since Paolo Di Canio. I definitely don’t see West Ham selling Payet, he has either signed a new contract or is on the verge of signing a new contract.

“I’m sure Slaven Bilic and the board will keep him. West Ham is an emerging club; they were excellent last year and next year they could do even better. Dimitri Payet will want to be part of that West Ham team; he has loved being at the Hammers. I’m sure he’ll want to stay.”