West Ham United

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

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 10 August 2016

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.