Pay demands from Dimitri Payet’s agents dominate the headlines this morning after ClaretandHugh exclusively broke the news yesterday that the midfielder’s advisers wanted talks on a new deal.
The player signed a deal worth £68,000, plus £10,000 per appearance, just eight months ago but our pal Darren Lewis over at The Mirror confirms what we told you – the club has no intention of letting him go.
According to his sources Payet’s financial team are looking for around £125k a week which the Hammers would certainly not be prepared to pay after less than a season and 22 appearances.
As we explained in our own story, the Hammers may indeed offer a new deal in the summer and that would certainly make the midfielder the club’s best paid player above Andy Carroll.
But the club has mocked agent suggestions that they could have an unhappy player on their hands if they don’t fork up now.
West Ham are adopting a measured approach to the issue but it is untrue that either Manchester United or Chelsea have made any moves in Payet’s direction despite the stories being put about.
A very well placed Hammers source explained: “There are no knee jerk reactions here. We look at everything at the end of the season anyway – it’s not a worrying situation or a particularly new one. We’ve been here before in other circumstances and we’ll deal with it .”
Mirror man Lewis quotes Slaven Bilic as saying: “We are moving, the club is moving with the new stadium and everything. Dimitri Payet is our best player and of course I would love to have him happy long term with the club .
“It is not only the staff and the players but the fans and the board. We’ll want to keep him for a long time.”
Slav would of course have been very aware of the agent noises and the club’s response to it and thus his words will probably have been based on insider knowledge of what is likely to happen next.
Its about time parasite agents are kicked out of football.Too much good money is wasted on these faceless people,football was the sport of the working class man but is going to be out of reach not just to the paying spectators but those who cough up for sky/bt.The more ridiculous monies that agents demand,its going to push football out of reach to a lot of fans.
So true. If anyone should get big % from modern football megadeals its youth coaches not the agents!
Payet has been with us for a little over half a season , and while we have all enjoyed his skills and flair it is not long enough to prove if he is the the real deal or just a flash in the pan . Lets see how good he is over the whole season and then negotiate a better deal for him but not the ridiculous figures being quoted in the press . If it turns out that he and his agents are only interested in a move to a ” big club” which lets face it would hardly be a surprise these days , then slap a £25 million price on his head and see if there are any takers . He’s good but not so good he can’t be replaced . We have Samuelson waiting in the wings who i am itching to see get his chance . We can’t let players who string a few good games together hold us to ransom for more money .Imagine making deductions from these players when their form takes a dip , now there’s an idea !
Spot on Pete. But i don`t think the player is particularly un happy. It was a very quiet transfer window for the agents so not too much commission earnt, hence such moves as we are seeing now. No doubt Payet will gratefully accept extra wages but i don’t think he will want to cause resentment among the fans who have taken him to their hearts.So if the club said “not yet” wouldhe kick off? I don’t think so.
If a 5 year contract was agreed by both parties, the player is performing as expected and therefore gets selected and receives his 10k appearance bonus, why would we listen to a players agent wanting more money within the first year of contract? Am I missing something here, since when is a contract no longer a contract….why would we want to extend beyond 5 years or increase agreed wages, he’s not going anywhere. We’re not going to get very far if we drop our pants every time a perceived bigger club comes in and shows interest in a player.