Noble expects West Ham stay for Payet

Mark Noble expects Dimitri Payet to stay at West Ham because the France star “loves the club”.

After firing 12 goals in all competitions in a stunning first season in England, Payet has carried his fine form onto the international stage at Euro 2016.

Unsurprisingly, having netted fine strikes in two late wins for the host nation, the 29-year-old is reportedly attracted suitors away from the Olympic Stadium.

However, club captain Noble believes his team-mate will remain at West Ham.

“I think he will be,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve been in a lot of contact with him over the summer and he loves the football club.

“But football is football, so you never know, but obviously we’d all like to see him back here in the summer.

“We were all hoping he would go [to the Euros, and earlier in the season] I said to him: ‘Dim, I’m 100 per cent [sure] you’re going to go’, even though he thought he had no chance.

“To see him doing so well is great because he’s been the player of the tournament so far. I think we all knew how good he was but now the world knows how good he is.”

Payet’s France have qualified for the knockout stages of the European Championship, where they will play the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, while West Ham begin their Premier League season at Chelsea on August 13.