West Ham United star Dimitri Payet has been a revelation since his move to the Premier League in the summer of 2015.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Saturday yesterday, Arsenal legend and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson explained how the Hammers have become too heavily reliant on Dimitri Payet, and lack any kind of creative threat when the Frenchman is not on his game.
Slaven Bilic’s men once again put in a fairly toothless display yesterday in their 1-1 draw with Stoke City, and are now in a perilous position heading into a horror run of fixtures that includes trips to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Liverpool over the space of three weeks after the international break.
Paul Merson
Merson explained the Sky Sports panel how the rest of the West Ham squad are not proactive enough in making things happen, and are too heavily reliant on Payet to make them tick:
“I think all the players they go out on the pitch and go ‘Go on then Payet do something and then when you’ve done something we’ll start getting involved. You get it going first.’ None of them step up to the plate. I just think they rely on him so much to make things happen and if he doesn’t make anything happen the other lads just won’t step up to the plate and that’s worrying for West Ham.”
Despite Payet being involved in everything good that happens for the Hammers, he has by no means been at his best this season, scoring only once in nine Premier League outings so far.
West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet
There is an argument that his head was turned over the summer as a result of reported interest from some of the biggest clubs in European football, including Real Madrid and Manchester United.
While the rumours will surly continue, Payet must ensure the he focuses entirely on his form with West Ham from now until the end of the season.
With the fixtures coming up for the Hammers, they will certainly need their star player to be at his best, although his form alone will not be enough to help extradite themselves from the mess they are in.
West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet
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