Slav poses a big Payet question

Slaven Bilic appears to have suggested that the West Ham board’s Dmitri Payet coup will see other clubs totally re-thinking their signing policies.

There’s a widespread view in the game that players of his age – 29 – should not command big fees because they have no sell-on value at the end of the contract.

Directors and managers fear the player’s best years are behind him and would get little or nothing back at the end of a contract.

Payet may of course be an exception the exception but his stunning form will unquestionable put a few thinking caps on in Premier League boardrooms.

And Slav doesn’t think so saying:  “Twenty-eight, when we signed him, is a good age. It’s the best age for a footballer. Now the players are playing their best football when they are 32 because they have matured – not as a player, but as a man.

“They have their families, they are more wise and they can concentrate totally on football and dedicate that for football. They know they have just three, four or five years left.”

Payet is at the same level and maybe well beyond the likes of David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale as a dead ball expert after five of his 12 goal tally this term came from free kicks.

Bilic said: “You can’t say that anyone was better than Beckham taking free-kicks. But then again, you can say the same thing about Dimitri this season. In the space of 10 minutes we can name five or six great ones.

“You have plenty who were doing that but this season the way Dimitri was putting them in the goal.