West Ham sign the Marseille forward Payet on four-year deal

West Ham United have agreed a fee of €15m (£10.7m) for the Marseille forward Dimitri Payet. He is set to fly to London for a medical on Thursday.

Payet has been offered a four-year contract, which contains a performance-related element and is worth a basic £60,000 a week. Each time the 28-year-old makes an appearance for the club he would receive an extra £10,000.

Payet, who has 15 caps for France and made the most assists in Ligue 1 last season, had two years to run on his Marseille deal but his salary was about to drop by about £12,000 a week after the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The Marseille manager, Marcelo Bielsa, had hoped that Payet’s contract could be renegotiated but the player was attracted by West Ham’s offer and the chance to play in the Premier League.

Payet also stands to play a part in Europe, with West Ham entering the Europa League at the first qualifying round, having qualified via the Fair Play League. They have been drawn to face FC Lusitans of Andorra, with the first leg on 2 July.

Payet can play across the front line, as well as in a No10 role and he will join the Spain under-21 midfielder, Pedro Obiang, who moved to Upton Park from Sampdoria for £4.6m, and the goalkeeper, Darren Randolph, who joined on a free transfer from Birmingham City. Stephen Hendrie, the young full-back, has also arrived from Hamilton for £1m.

The West Ham board are keen to back the new manager, Slaven Bilic, for the club’s final season at Upton Park before their move to the Olympic Stadium.



By David Hytner / Guardian