MX23RW : Thursday, December 19 10:45:17| >> :60:2473:2473:

Slaven Bilic: 'Keeping hold of Dimitri Payet a statement of intent'

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic believes that fending off interest for Dimitri Payet shows that the club no longer needs to sell its best players.

Slaven Bilic has claimed that keeping hold of star player Dimitri Payet shows that West Ham United mean business this coming season.

The France international was in high demand earlier this summer following a string of impressive displays at Euro 2016, coming after a stellar campaign for club side United.

Despite rumoured interest from Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, Payet remains a West Ham player heading into the new campaign, which Bilic believes is enough to prove the Hammers are no longer a selling club.

"In keeping Dimitri Payet we have shown the club is serious and trying to get to another level, as much or even more than with the new stadium," he told Sky Sports News.

"West Ham was always labelled as a club that has to sell its best players, be it Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand or whoever. But we have kept Dimi, and we have shown to everyone that the club is thinking seriously."

Payet scored 12 times for United in his debut campaign at Premier League level.

ID:278604: cacheID:278604:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2117:
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Swansea player Andre Ayew in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Newcastle United at the Liberty stadium on August 15, 2015
Read Next:
Sullivan "delighted" by Ayew arrival
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!