Team of the Season – Dimitri Payet

After arriving at West Ham in a deal worth £10.7 million from Marseille, Dimitri Payet went on to enjoy a fantastic debut season in the Premier League, scoring nine goals and registering 13 assists to help the Hammers claim an impressive seventh place finish. That form helped the midfielder gain a place in the PFA Team of the Year, while he picked up 18% of our midfielders vote to claim a spot in our Team of the Season.

THE STATISTICS

Payet made his way to Upton Park on the back of seven goals and a league-high 17 assists during his final season at Marseille. Priced at a reasonable 7.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the Frenchman was the subject of much interest during pre-season and immediately justified the hype, bagging a goal and an assist in his first two matches, while a 16-point haul against Newcastle in Gameweek 5 cemented his position as one of the most sought-after midfielders in the game.

Payet then backed that up with two goals and three assists in his next five appearances, seeing his price rise to 8.3 in FPL by the time West Ham took on Everton in Gameweek 12. That afternoon saw Payet pick up an ankle injury, which left the midfielder on the sidelines until Gameweek 20.

He immediately returned to form in the Hammers 3-1 win at Bournemouth in Gameweek 21, registering a goal and an assist in an 11-point haul, while although he blanked in his next four matches, the playmaker ended the campaign in fine form, serving up three goals and eight assists in his final 12 outings.

Payet finished the season with 171 points in FPL, joint-fourth in midfield along with Swansea’s Andre Ayew, his former team-mate at Marseille. In terms of points per game, though, his average of 5.7 was bettered only by Riyad Mahrez (6.5) in the centre of the park and level with Mesut Ozil.

The Frenchman also served up six double-figure hauls over the course of the campaign and picked up points in 17 of 30 league appearances.

THE PROSPECTS

Having made such a strong impression during his first season in English football, expectations will certainly be high for Payet as West Ham move from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium ahead of 2016/17. West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is expected to further increase the quality of the Hammers squad in the summer, with co-owner David Sullivan revealing last week the club had lodged a £24 million bid for a striker in France, while only on Tuesday, Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe also confirmed the Hammers had bid for Callum Wilson, in addition to Matt Ritchie.

Considering that Payet delivered fantastic numbers when the Hammers had either Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll or occasionally Emmanuel Emenike as their central striker, the ceiling could potentially be even higher should West Ham land one of their big transfer targets. A price hike into the region of around 9.5 is certainly inevitable for the France international, though as the stats show, he could still prove irresistible at a higher valuation.

Indeed, Payet’s 13 assists were bettered only by Ozil (19) and Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen (16), while his average of 23.2 minutes per chance created was second only to Ozil (21.9) among midfielders. The former Marseille man was also a strong beneficiary from the new Bonus Point System (BPS), racking up 25 extra points, joint-fifth among all players in FPL despite those missed matches.

West Ham ended the season as the joint-fourth highest scoring side in the top flight with 65 goals, indicating we shouldn’t overlook their main attacking assets as we head into next season. Regardless of whether Bilic rolls out a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2, Payet looks immune to any potential rotation and is likely to remain the jewel in the Hammers’ crown for the campaign ahead. A dead-ball ability to score from distance or create for his team-mates will ensure he is earmarked as a must-have by many Fantasy managers.

Bilic’s use of Michail Antonio will play a part in our thinking, though. Utilised mainly as a right-back or right wing-back in the final few months of the season, the former Forest man returned to his attacking midfield role on the final match of the campaign and duly obliged by netting the Hammers’ only goal in a 2-1 loss at Stoke. Antonio looks likely to come in around 7.0 or 7.5 and, having scored only one less goal that Payet in over 500 minutes’ less pitch time, could emerge ahead of the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Mark Noble as the Frenchman’s main rival for our attentions.