West Ham United hero Dimitri Payet showed he is ready to return to Premier League action against Watford when he came on as a sub for France.
West Ham’s Dimitri Payet
The Euro 2016 runners-up were in action against Belarus on Tuesday night looking to keep the momentum of a fantastic home tournament going into the new World Cup qualifying campaign.
Payet has only featured briefly for West Ham this season picking up an injury in a 2-1 season opening defeat at Chelsea.
Some Hammers fans were suspicious of his lack of involvement since then, claiming the club were deliberately not playing him so as not to scupper a potential mega deal for the player ahead of the transfer deadline.
The window shut last week, though, with the player remaining in East London much to the delight of Hammers fans everywhere.
‘We’ve got Payet… back for Watford’
Payet looked sharp and back to his brilliant best as a second half substitute for Didier Dechamps’ side in the 0-0 draw on Tuesday night.
In fact West Ham’s talisman was so good he created 11 chances or goalscoring opportunities for himself and his teammates in his 35 minutes on the pitch, more than the rest of his teammates combined over the full 90.
France head coach Didier Deschamps and Anthony Martial
When Payet entered the fray for Manchester United’s Antony Martial he almost made an immediate impact, delivering a brilliant corner which was headed over by Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud from just five yards out and with the goal at his mercy.
Payet completely changed the complexion of a game which Belarus had been bossing.
He created chance after chance with a number of quality crosses but his teammates could not provide the finish.
West Ham’s Dimitri Payet
The 29-year-old also had a couple of efforts at goal himself, hitting the target with both but to no avail after a fine performance from the Belarus goalkeeper.
There was even better news for Hammers boss Slaven Bilic after the game in that Payet suffered no ill effects and Watford be warned, he looks ready for Saturday.
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