On June 26, West Ham announced the capture of French attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet, as the newly-installed Slaven Bilic set about moulding the team in his image following his appointment in East London.
Speaking to the Hammers’ official site, Ligue 1’s highest assist-maker last term revealed that Bilic’s intention to play an attacking brand of football next season was a prime reason for him joining:
“West Ham really showed me that they wanted me to come, both the joint-chairmen and the manager. Firstly I spoke with the manager, who really wished for me to come here and had been watching me a lot. He made it clear that he wanted me to sign and that too was important in my choice. I’m an attacking footballer so for sure I like attacking football and that they’re counting on me to help achieve that gives me a sense of responsibility. The fact that I’m here is also down to that. It’s true that it’s taken a little while but that’s normal, negotiations are like that. But now that it’s done, I’m very happy.”
The History
Born on the French island of Reunion, Payet spent four years in the youth set-ups at a couple of local clubs (Saint-Philippe and Saint-Pierroise). A move to the mainland with Ligue 2 outfit Le Havre then followed, where he trained for four years before plotting a course back to Reunion with AS Excelsior. Just one season after joining the club from Saint-Joseph, Payet signed with Ligue 1 side Nantes on an amateur contract.
After netting six goals in 22 matches for the reserves, Payet earned his first appearance for the senior team in December of the 2004/05 Ligue 1 campaign. The Saint-Pierre native established himself as a regular starter in the 2005/06 season by virtue of his goal scoring cameos at the start of the term, going on to record four strikes and three assists in 30 league outings.
Nantes’ relegation that season prompted Payet to hand in a transfer request, which ultimately resulted in a move to top-flight outfit Saint-Etienne. He failed to register a single goal in his first season for Les Verts but did manage to chalk up six assists. The subsequent two campaigns were more profitable – harvesting six goals and 14 assists across 65 league appearances – but the 2010/11 season was his best yet, with Payet serving up 13 goals and six assists in 33 appearances.
Payet’s laudable attacking output attracted interest from Ligue 1 champions Lille, who snapped up the gifted technician in a €9 million deal. Payet continued to offer that dual threat in the north of France, with his final season at Lille producing a hugely impressive 12 goals and 18 assists.
Marseille reached a €11 million agreement for the transfer of Payet prior to the 2013/14 season. The France international tallied eight goals and six assists during his debut campaign with Les Phoceens, before notching seven goals and 17 assists in the previous Ligue 1 season.
Since 2010, Payet has tallied 15 appearances for France’s senior side. His only goal arrived on June 7 this year in a 4-3 friendly defeat to Belgium.
The Prospects
Payet’s potential to be a creative powerhouse in West Ham’s midfield is manifest from his incredible statistics in the previous Ligue 1 campaign. Aside from topping the assists charts (17) by some margin, the Marseille man executed more successful through balls than any player in the top five European leagues, apart from the inimitable Lionel Messi.
Furthermore, Payet completed a staggering 133 key passes last season – that’s far superior to Eden Hazard (100), who registered the best tally in the Premier League in 2014/15. His average of 23 minutes per chance created last season bettered Mesut Ozil (27.8), who was the quickest regular in England’s top tier.
Of course, the Ligue 1 doesn’t boast the quality or depth of the Premier League, so it’s not always straightforward for its top performers to replicate that standard in England. Newcastle’s fan base can certainly testify to that notion, having witnessed Remy Cabella – who registered 14 goals and seven assists during his final campaign with Montpellier – struggle to make an impact at St James’ Park, notching just one goal and two assists in 31 league outings.
Nonetheless, the consistency of Payet’s output (51 assists over the previous six Ligue 1 seasons) bodes well for his prospects next season. Given that Payet thrived in the role in “the hole” for Marseille, it looks likely he will tuck in behind a lone striker once again, with Bilic rolling out a 4-2-3-1 formation. Such an eventuality would starve Stewart Downing of the number ten spot he adopted on occasion last season, with reports mounting that the former Villa man could be on his way out of Upton Park, as the likes of Newcastle and Sunderland line up bids. Payet can also be expected to take the majority of set-pieces and corners, given his proficiency from dead-ball situations – this should also be to Downing’s detriment, should he stay at Upton Park.
The new boy’s creativity also boosts the prospects of Diafra Sakho for the upcoming campaign. Sakho suffered from injuries and a lack of form in the second half of 2014/15 yet his average of 184.1 minutes per goal was sandwiched in between Charlie Austin (178.9) and Christian Benteke (192.8), suggesting he could flourish further with Payet’s constant source of creativity tucked in behind him.
Looking at the fixtures, though, Bilic’s side have been handed a relatively favourable opening run. Granted, they face a trio of bruising road clashes (ars, liv, mci) by Gameweek 6 but over the first nine, they are rated third for attacking potential by our season ticker, with four very favourable home ties (LEI, BOU, NEW, NOR) supplemented by trips to Sunderland and Palace.
The Hammers congested pre-season schedule – which could comprise of 13 fixtures (eight competitive, five friendly) if they progress through the myriad qualification rounds of the Europa League – will further influence how we evaluate their early-season prospects.
One might suggest that these extra pre-season run-outs will be an advantage at the start of the campaign, enabling Bilic to greater instill his philosophy and generate some rhythm and match fitness. Certainly, if Payet comes in around the 7.0 – 7.5 mark in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Fantasy managers might well be tempted by the Irons’ new boy as Bilic looks to his number one target to turn on the style in the first season of the post-Allardyce era.
