France playmaker Dimitri Payet gives West Ham huge boost by vowing: I’m sure to stay
Euro 2016 star targeted by Real Madrid and Inter Milan says he is keen to play at the Olympic Stadium - Hammers' new home
DIMITRI PAYET has given West Ham a massive boost by declaring: “I’m 100 per cent staying.”
The French playmaker was one of the stars of Euro 2016 and has attracted attention from Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
And Hammers co-owner David Gold even admitted to SunSport this month that Payet’s head could be turned by one of Europe’s top clubs but insisted they would only entertain bids of more than £50million.
Yet Payet, 29, speaking exclusively to SunSport on his way back to the UK after playing in the hosts' 1-0 final defeat against Portugal in Paris, says he is DEFINITELY staying.
He said: “I’ve heard about all the interest and I’m flattered.
“But I love West Ham. We had a fantastic season and I can’t wait to play in the Olympic Stadium.
“I’m 100 per cent staying at West Ham, I love the club. I can tell the Hammers fans that.”
This adds weight to the words of Gold during the Euros.
He said then: “We’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure Dimitri pulls on a claret and blue shirt next season.
“We want to improve our squad and Dimitri is an integral part of what we’re trying to do. But we also must be realistic.
"If Barcelona or Real Madrid made a bid and he wanted to move there, it would be difficult to keep him."
And Gold insisted West Ham were "no longer a selling club, we’re a spending club and investing in our future”.
Payet was one of the few players to consistently impress at the Euros, enhancing a reputation he built so stylishly last term, when the hammers finished seventh, just four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City.
