Dimitri Payet latest: January window should be CLOSED to ‘stop players holding clubs to ransom’ – West Ham chief David Gold
West Ham co-owner David Gold has hit out amid the club’s ongoing row with Dimitri Payet by suggesting the January transfer window should be AXED.
The Hammers have said they will not sell the French international, despite the fact manager Slaven Bilic revealed last week he is refusing to play for the club.
It has been reported that Payet, West Ham's player of the year last season, is striking in a bid to force a return to former club Marseille, despite a recent upturn in results carrying the London side away from the relegation zone.
And, with other top-flight clubs also seeing their leading players linked with moves away in the current window, Gold suggested how he would deal with the situation.
Writing on Twitter, the Hammers chief said: “With a number of top Premier League players holding clubs to ransom is it time to close the January transfer window?”
Payet was not missed as West Ham beat Palace 3-0 on Saturday, with Andy Carroll's acrobatic overhead kick the pick of the goals.
Before the victory over former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, Gold's fellow joint-chairman David Sullivan insisted in his programme notes that Payet would not get his wish this month.
''The board's position is that we do not want to sell Dimitri," he wrote.
"We do not need to sell Dimitri for financial or any other reasons, and we will NOT sell Dimitri in the January transfer window."
Bilic revealed Payet's refusal to play last week and said he felt "let down and angry" by the revelations.
But, after the convincing London derby win over the Eagles, he was more interested in praising those who did turn out.
''Payet is a great player so you are losing quality, but the team showed it is about the team and not individuals," he said.
"This is a great example for that. So let's talk about Carroll, or Darren Randolph, or Mark Noble. Michail Antonio had flu and a temperature of 38.4 last night. He showed brilliant determination, brilliant quality. That's what I want to talk about.''