Report: Marseilles face French rival for Payet

West Ham are this morning reported to be considering  a possible loan deal which would see Dimitri Payet join French outfit Nice .

Nice lead Ligue 1 and are believed ready to make an offer after the Irons again turned down Marseille’s on the ‘cheap attempts’ to get the playmaker.

The deal would see West Ham, offload his £125,000-a-week wages. and carry other encouraging possibilities. It gives him  his return to France, and should Nice win a Champions League place, the Irons could land a big bonus on such a clause in the deal.

And were Nice to attempt making the deal permanent in the summer it would take the ball out of Marseilles court or at the very least set up a bidding war which would push the price upwards.

Nice were taken over by Chinese and ­American investors last summer and still have significant funds after bankrolling moves for the likes of Mario Balotelli to the club.