Dimitri Payet. The man that needs no introduction to West Ham fans.
When Payet decided he wanted to leave West Ham, most fans had been wondering if he wanted to go, but no one expected a player who had been loved and adored by fans to go on strike to force through the move.
Rumours about the reason why he wanted to leave have been thrown around, but he, his family and possibly the club are the only people who will know the real reason why.
After delivering one of the best personal performances in a season, we would have understood if he wanted to move on straight away and been honest about things. It would have been devastating but he would have left a hero and been welcomed back at any opportunity.
His legacy with West Ham is now in tatters. His song by the fans changed from one of worship to one of overwhelming abuse.
Fast forward to now. Marseille, Payet’s club, are in financial disarray and need to clear debts by selling players. One of those available players is Payet.
He is 32 now (the same age as Mr. West Ham Mark Noble) and available for £6m. In my opinion, we should have nothing to do with him. Fans want the player back from 2015/16 when he was world class and getting into the French squad. But he isn’t the same player.
With the players we are looking to sign and have signed over the last year, it wouldn’t make sense. For the players still here after he left, would they want or be able to trust him? From a non-playing perspective, I don’t see how he could fit into what now is a very tight knit group.
We can be thankful for the good moments while he was here, but we can’t afford to look backwards any more. Payet is in the past.
By Stephen Barrows (@StephenBarrows)
[Featured image from whufc.com]