Payet posied to seal £25m move ‘home’

THE West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet moved a step closer to rejoining French side Marseille when he passed a medical last night.

Payet has expressed his desire to leave London and has not appeared for Slaven Bilic’s side since refusing to play against Crystal Palace on January 14.

A statement said: “West Ham United can confirm that a £25m fee has today been agreed for the transfer of Dimitri Payet to Olympique de Marseille.”

France international Payet, 29, who arrived from Marseille in the summer of 2015, was a big hit in his first season with the London club, scoring 12 times in 38 appearances. He agreed a lucrative new contract until 2021, before starring for his country as they reached the final of Euro 2016 on home soil. But things turned sour when Payet angered his manager Bilic by requesting a transfer and declining to be picked against Palace.

A return to Ligue 1 looks imminent, despite West Ham’s initial reluctance to sell him.

The Premier League club have suffered no ill-effects on the pitch, beating Palace and following it up with a 3-1 success at Middlesbrough, to continue their climb up the table after a slow start to the season.

Payet posted a photo of a jet on Twitter: “On rentre a la maison,” which translates as: “Going home”. SUTTON UNITED manager Paul Doswell hailed a “huge achievement” by his part-timers after they pulled off the shock of the FA Cup fourth round in a 1-0 victory against Leeds United.

Captain Jamie Collins scored the winner from the penalty spot as the National League side stunned a team 83 places above them.

Leeds manager Garry Monk, clearly concentrating on promotion back to the Premier League, paid the price for