Payet will improve West Ham – Bilic

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic heaped praise on recruit Dimitri Payet and backed the midfielder to improve the playing squad.

Payet arrived from Marseille for an undisclosed eight-figure fee on a five-year contract last month and the France international has made an immediate impact at Upton Park.

The 28-year-old – capped 14 times by the national team – is set for his competitive debut in West Ham’s UEFA Europa League third-round qualifier against Astra Giurgiu on Thursday and Bilic tipped his new signing to help the club climb the Premier League standings.

“It’s still early days but Dimitri it’s not only my opinion but I know so far he’s not only a great player, he’s a great professional, he’s a good lad,” the Croatian said.

“He has mixed already. He’s the kind of player I thought we really needed, that’s going to make every player better than they actually are.

“He’s got everything. He likes to take responsibility.

“He was my number one target and I am grateful to chairman that we got him. And it was done like that – not in four weeks.

“He’s doing really well at the moment. Not only him but all the guys but you ask about him.

“It may go a bit up and down. But we’re going to help him and he’s going to help us.”