West Ham United captain Mark Noble has admitted that he has not spoken to wantaway playmaker Dimitri Payet for "two or three weeks", and says the club are better off without him in his current state of mind.
The France international, who was one of the standout performers in the Premier League in his maiden campaign in English football, is refusing to play for the Hammers after growing disillusioned at the London Stadium.
West Ham have remained firm and insist that Payet is still not for sale, despite former side Marseille showing a strong interest, but Noble has questioned whether keeping his teammate on board is the right decision to take.
"I have always said that he is up there with one of the best players I have ever played with and I had – and I say had because I haven't really spoken to him for the last two or three weeks – a great relationship with him," The Mirror quotes him as saying.
"I don't know his reasons and am not going to comment on why he wanted to leave, but I do know that if someone doesn't want to play for the team then he's better off not even playing."
Payet joined West Ham from Marseille in 2015 for a fee of £10.5m and signed a new five-year contract at the club less than 12 months ago.
Daniel Lewis
