Interest in West Ham United rebel Dimitri Payet is hotting up as it’s reported that Paris Saint-Germain and Nice are also keen on signing the Frenchman.
Former club Marseille appeared to be the favourites to land the want-away playmaker, who has informed Hammers boss Slaven Bilic that he no longer wants to play for the club.
In turn, he has been dropped from the first-team squad and will anxiously wait for news on his future to secure an escape from London before the deadline.
According to The Express, West Ham are still holding out for £35m, with Marseille struggling to come back with a third offer above £25m.
That in turn opens the door for other interested parties to swoop, and the report claims that PSG are ready to take advantage of the situation despite signing Julian Draxler earlier this month.
The fee and wages won’t be an issue for the wealthy capital club, and so perhaps they have now moved to the front of the queue for Payet.
Nevertheless, he isn’t short of options as The Mirror claim that Nice are ready to offer him a six-month loan spell at the club which would give the French international the return to his homeland that he craves, while West Ham would offload him and his wages until a long-term solution is found.
If there was a time to join Nice, then it would be now as the club remain at the top of the Ligue 1 table for the time being and have already proven that they can reinvigorate careers having got Mario Balotelli back to somewhere near his best.
With the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League next season, or better yet, ending the year as French champions, Payet would be a major asset to add to the squad to get them over the finish line.
Payet wants to leave and West Ham want him out. Now it is simply a case of finding the best fit for all concerned.