Dimitri Payet: Marseille abandon £30m bid to sign wantaway West Ham and France star
Hammers talisman's hopes of a return to the south of France dashed as Marseille move on to other targets
MARSEILLE have sensationally abandoned their bid to sign wantaway West Ham star Dimitri Payet.
According to Sky Sports, the French club are set to move on to other transfer targets.
Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol said: "Marseille do not think it will be possible to sign him [Payet] during this window. They will be moving onto other targets.
"Marseille have almost given up on signing Payet this month.
The Hammers playmaker has burnt his bridges at the London Stadium and was expecting a move back to the south of France to be completed this month.
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His West Ham teammates have already deleted him from the team Whatsapp group and banned him from club nights out.
While angry supporters vandalised his car outside his home.
Payet was so determined to return to Marseille that he even rejected a £500,000-a-week offer from China.
Earlier in the week, Slaven Bilic warned the French club that the Hammers would not accept a cut price bid just because Payet had had a tantrum.
The Croatian boss said: “We are not going to sell our best players on the cheap just because they want to go home.
“The ball is in their court. Now they should act.”
But it seems that Marseille have called Bilic's bluff and will now look to alternatives.
One player they are also believed to be interested in is Payet's fellow Premier League star Yohan Cabaye, who is stuck in a relegation battle with Crystal Palace.
Solhekol did not rule out Marseille returning for Payet, saying: "Another way of looking at it is this could be a game of brinksmanship with West Ham.
"West Ham have a player who's refusing to play, who's training with the Under-23s. They're demanding £30m and Marseille are not willing to pay more than £25m.
"So is this just a game of poker between the two clubs?"
