Bilic: Payet will definitely stay at West Ham

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has reiterated the club’s desire not to part with star Dimitri Payet.

Payet signed a fresh five-year deal in February following a stellar debut season in the Premier League, however, the France international continues to be linked with a move away from London.

Having previously said he would not “close the door to anything”, a possible reunion with Marseille has been reported.

Payet was also substituted during Monday’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United, but Bilic insisted it was not something to look into.

“We said that he started the season and we are moving up and forward and we want to keep our best players,” Bilic said.

“He is definitely our best player and we want to keep him. He’s playing well, playing good. Recently he’s playing really good. He worked really hard today.

“Don’t forget we put in this amount of energy two days after a game [Saturday’s loss away to champions Leicester].

“He showed his quality and energy for the team. He had to defend a lot, very deep against [Antonio] Valencia. He doesn’t look troubled [by the speculation].”

Payet has scored two goals in 18 Premier League appearances this season, while tallying six assists.