Arsenal transfer news: Arsene Wenger lines up sensational swoop for Dimitri Payet to boost Gunners’ title bid
French boss will test the waters for 29-year-old next month with Slaven Bilic's Hammers facing relegation scrap
ARSENE WENGER will swoop for Dimitri Payet in January if his team is still flying high and the Hammers are fighting relegation.
The 29-year-old lit up the Premier League last season as West Ham celebrated their final campaign at Upton Park with some stellar performances that have become a distant memory this term.
Over the summer, with the playmaker impressing again for the France side hosting the Euros, West Ham tied him down to a long-term deal on £125,000-a-week and SunSport revealed at the end of November that the club is already considering offering their star man improved terms to keep him at the London stadium.
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But the 29-year-old was a passenger in the embarrassing 4-1 EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United on Thursday night, standing idly by and watching Anthony Martial score after he gave the ball away for United’s second goal.
And it remains to be seen how handy the little magician will be in the trenches with games against the Gunners and Liverpool coming up in the next week and relegation clashes with Burnley and Hull before Christmas.
On Friday, ahead of their meeting, Wenger purred over the former Marseille man, saying: “Payet is now even in France one of the star players, he has realised a bit late in his career and fulfilled his potential.
“West Ham was one of the triggers for him, not only did he convince last year he is a top class player, he won his place in the national team.”
Ham boss Slaven Bilic mounts the studio table when Payet scores for France" auto="false"]
Wenger was first alerted to Payet’s quality when he played for St Etienne between 2007-2011 but a lack of consistency from the Reunion-born midfielder put pay to any transfer.
But the Gunners boss was a pundit during Euro 2016, watching the set-piece specialist closely and praising him in April.
He said: “He was a top talent, always, but had periods of being up and down.
"I've looked at him many times. I've known him for a long time. He played at Saint-Etienne and we watched him many times.
"I think he has all the attributes to be a top player, which he is, but he's 29-years-old already. He's matured a lot and come back into the national team, which shows he was more consistent."
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Payet could play in any of the three slots across Arsenal’s attacking midfield if he rekindles the form he showed last season.
One Arsenal hero thinks he’s already downed tools and could be angling for a move away as the going gets tough for Slaven Bilic’s struggling side.
Paul Merson said: "I was impressed with Manchester United in midweek, but it was against a poor West Ham team, who were virtually playing with 10-men - Dimitri Payet doesn't look interested - at all.
"I would advise him to knuckle down and help get West Ham out of this relegation battle. He looks like someone that wants to be moving on his way. If it wasn't for West Ham nobody would have ever heard of Payet - he wouldn't even be playing for France.”