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West Ham haven’t had much to cheer about this season but here’s a stat that will certainly make the fans smile a little.
One player who helped West Ham to a European place last season was Dimitri Payet. He took the league by storm and was arguably one of the best players in the Premier League last season. Admittedly he has been a little less effective this season, not scoring as many goals and in particular, his free kicks haven’t been hitting the back of the net.
Some fans have even started to call him a one season wonder, dubbing him ‘Dimitri Quiet’ this season. But is this criticism fair? Statistics suggest that although his goals may have dried up a little, Payet is still as creative as ever and perhaps his teammates are the people letting him down. This statistic from Squawka shows that in Europe’s ‘top 5’ leagues, the West Ham man has created the most chances with a whopping 4o already. Payet is in good company too with Mohammed Salah (39) and Angel Di Maria (37) making up the top three.
The statistics continue to back up Payet. He has an average league rating of 7.65 on WhoScored, that’s more than any other West Ham player. He’s also managed a respectable 4 league assists in 9 league games. He only has one goal but after a long summer playing in the Euros for France, you cannot expect Payet to immediately pick up the same form he showed last season.
Even the very best players suffer a bit of a post-tournament hangover and take a while to click back into gear. I actually think Payet has continued to play well, certainly one of if not West Ham’s best player so far this season. Admittedly that is not saying much because of West Ham’s poor football at the moment, but if Bilic wants to see the best of Payet again he needs to get the players around him performing to a higher level, the club cannot afford to be dependent on one player.
The worry now for West Ham and their fans is that Payet could look elsewhere. The 29-year-old Frenchman will not want to spend the prime years of his career at a club that looks like they have no chance of finishing in the European spots this season. He has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain, so should a club like that come knocking, I cannot see Payet wanting to hang around for much longer should the current climate at the club be sustained.
