The saga concerning the future of Dimitri Payet at West Ham United has taken a further twist, with The Daily Mirror stating a loan move may have to be forced through.

What’s the word?

Dimitri Payet’s future has flooded the back pages in recent week, following the Euro 2016 star’s declaration of intent to leave East London and refusal to represent West Ham, and the stories concerning the Frenchman simply won’t go away.

29-year-old Payet is desperate to return to Marseille, with his family already in France looking at houses and schools, but negotiations between the Ligue 1 side and their Premier League counterparts seem to have hit a deadlock.

West Ham are refusing to lower their asking price of £35m, whilst Marseille are equally unwilling to budge on their latest offer of £25m and £3m in add-ons, leaving Payet’s future up in the air.

Would a loan work?

A possible work-around for both sides is to negotiate a loan for Payet to Marseille until the end of the season, with the French side then having the obligation to buy the player permanently. However, West Ham would prefer to have him off their books all together.

Citing a family crisis, Payet is desperate to return to his homeland and there’s no turning back on his refusal to represent the club, as the former fan favourite is now public enemy number one at the London Stadium and has burned all bridges with his employers.

West Ham won’t want Payet around the squad due to the toxic atmosphere surrounding the player but they may be left with little choice- although Ligue 1 title chasers Nice may swoop.

[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]