Dimitri Payet to West Ham: Marseille to offer winger new contract but Hammers confident £14m bid will be enough to secure move

Payet is wanted by West Ham who saw an original £12m bid rejected for the France international

Marseille forward Dimitri Payet is close to joining West Ham (Getty Images)

West Ham are confident that their top transfer target Dimitri Payet will reject a new contract offer from Marseille in order to join the Premier League club this summer after the Hammers submitted an improved £14m bid for the France international.

Payet could be the third big name to leave the Ligue 1 side after they missed out on qualification for the Champions League. With the squad set to suffer an automatic wage drop after missing out on Europe’s elite competition, both Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac has sought moves to Swansea and Mexican side Tigres respectively, and Payet could be the next high profile player to join the exodus.

The Hammers are believed to be confident that the 28-year-old, who has played 15 times for France having made his debut in 2010, will snub the contract extension and attempt to force through a move to the east London club.

On Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported that West Ham’s offer for Payet had been accepted, although talks took place between Payet’s agent and Marseille’s president Vincent Labrune earlier in the week. Labrune is set to report back to majority shareholder, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who will have the final say over whether Payet will remain at the Stade Velodrome or be on his way to Upton Park.

Payet has made 15 appearances for France (Getty Images)

West Ham are determined to land the former Nantes, Saint-Etienne and Lille winger in a bid to show new manager Slaven Bilic their ambition and justify the move not to renew Sam Allardycve’s contract in order to bring the Croatian to the club in the summer.

With this in mind, the club will offer a significantly improved contract to Payet should they begin talks with him that will drawf Marseille’s improved offer, and The Guardian claims that he could earn as much as £70,000-a-week on a five-year deal that will also have the option of an additional season.