I am not saying that Arsenal would be right to forget about going for the transfer of the West Ham and France international star Dimitri Payet during the current summer transfer window. In fact I would love for Arsene Wenger to go for this brilliant player but I’m afraid it is just not going to happen.
The final nail in the coffin of my hopes for Arsenal signing Payet came with a statement from the player’s agent this week, reported by Sky Sports. As well as declaring that the mercurial and match winning Frenchman was happy at his current club, Mark McKay suggested that it would take a small fortune for West Ham to even consider selling their top star.
He said, “As far as I am concerned, he’s been happy at West Ham and it’s down to West Ham that he’s in the position that he is in.
“He’s doing great now for France and to get him now, you’ve got to be talking ridiculous money. But football is football, so you never know.
“When he first came last year, we hoped for the best with him. We knew that he was a really good player, but I don’t think anyone could really expect what he has gone on to do in the Premier League so far.
“The game against Romania the other night was a joy to watch.”
It certainly was and his international form combined with an amazing debut season in the Premier League could well see some clubs willing to offer the ridiculous money his agent is talking about. But the reasons I believe Arsenal will not be one of them are his age, even though 29-years old is not that much in the modern game. I just don’t see Wenger making a player on the verge of 30 his biggest ever signing.
I also think that Wenger will be cautious about Payet being a one season wonder, as he has done the same thing in recent years with other players like Benteke, Bony and Sterling.
The other reason I feel that Arsenal will not go for this transfer is that Payet’s best position is the number 10 role and we do already have a certain Mesut Ozil, who Wenger clearly feels is key to the way Arsenal play. Payet is more of an individual and that is not so much the Arsenal way under the current boss.
Add to all this the fact that Wenger and Arsenal are, let’s say ‘careful’ with money, so do you agree that Payet is one player who will not be a part of our transfer plans?