West Ham do not want to sell team’s ‘top player’ Dimitri Payet, says Slaven Bilic

Slaven Bilic has said West Ham will do all they can to keep their “top player” Dimitri Payet during the January transfer window.

Payet has again been the subject of interest from other clubs as the window approaches, with Arsenal and Manchester United linked with the France international. But Bilic says the attention is expected and could motivate the player to perform better for his current employers.

“We do not want to sell him – he is our top player,” Bilic said. “We said the same the last window and now all the speculation starts again. He’s got a contract with us, a long contract and I’ll say what I always say: we don’t want to sell him.

“West Ham have given a strong statement that we want to keep our best player. You can’t stop speculation; great players always attract attention when the window comes. We always knew this would happen, that there would be stories, rumours in the media. This is why it’s important for the club to say this, but it’s nothing new.”

Payet gave an interview to the French broadcaster RMC his week in which he was quoted as saying that it would be “fun” to play for Arsène Wenger at Arsenal and that he “misses” the Champions League, but Bilic said the remarks did not overly concern him.

“I’ve spoken to Dimi a few times and I know what these interviews are like. When I was a player I had them too and if you don’t say ‘no way’ [when you are asked if you would consider a transfer] it doesn’t mean you aren’t committed. I was committed to all my clubs. I played my best football when other clubs showed interest in me because that gave me proof that I was doing good.

“There’s nothing wrong in saying he misses the Champions League. He’s training hard, he knows that we want him to stay, he has status here. On the other hand he’s very ambitions and that’s why he’s a great player. He wants to compete with the best but he is competing with best because he is playing in the Premier League.”

Bilic also confirmed some bad news for the club, that the Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho will be out for up to 10 weeks after undergoing a back operation.

“Sakho will definitely miss the African Nations,” Bilic said. “It will rule him out for six, eight or 10 weeks. We’re talking about him being back by March. This is a big blow for us. He’s out and that’s the situation.”