West Ham demand more than £35m for Dimitri Payet as Frenchman targets Marseille transfer

Payet is effectively on strike at West Ham

Payet signed a new deal at the club last February (Getty)

West Ham will demand between £35m and £40m for on-strike talisman Dimitri Payet.

Payet is on strike at the Hammers, refusing to play for the club or train, as he attempts to force through a move to former club Marseille this month.

Slaven Bilic said he felt betrayed by the 29-year-old for his attitude after the Hammers rejected a £20m bid from the Ligue 1 side, with their manager Rudi Garcia saying: “Quite obviously I would take him any day of the week.”

The Times say Payet will be fined two weeks wages – around £250,000 in total – after telling the club he is unable to train because of a back injury.

The midfielder signed a new contract with the Hammers last February and was made the best-paid player in their history to keep him at the club until 2021, with the option of a further year.

The newspaper also said that he requested a further wage hike after his Euro 2016 performances, which included three goals and two man-of-the-match displays, but West Ham refused, leading to his dismay with the club this season.

Marseille have been taken over by Frank McCourt, the former owner for Major League Baseball team LA Dodgers, and Payet is attracted by the plans he has in place for his former club.