Dimitri Payet to Real Madrid: Zinedine Zidane says West Ham star would improve 'any side in Europe'

On target: Dimitri Payet scored twice as France won Euro 2016 Group A
AFP/Getty Images
Tom Dutton25 June 2016

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on West Ham's Dimitri Payet following the player's impressive start to Euro 2016.

The Hammers fear losing Payet to one of Europe's elite and Real are among a number of clubs interested in his services.

Zidane's comments, then, will be viewed as something of a charm offensive in east London after the former France international voiced his belief that Payet would 'improve any side in Europe'.

Payet was named in the Premier League Team of the Year following a £10.7million move from Marseille to the Boleyn Ground last summer. And his club performances earnt him a place in France's Euro 2016 squad having previously been frozen out on the international stage.

The 29-year-old scored twice in the Euro 2016 group stages as the hosts won Group A and Zidane believes he has all the attributes a coach would look for when attempting to acquire an attacking midfielder.

“It is a great story - he (Payet) has always always had talent, but now at 29 he is getting the respect he deserves, " Zidane said.

“There is so much pressure on young players to perform on the biggest stage, Dimitri has shown things don't always have to happen early.

“When he wasn't in the French team he never gave up, and now he is proving he is one of the most important and talented players, not just in the French side, but in Europe.

The best goals at Euro 2016

1/15

“He had an incredible season with West Ham, and now at The Euros is showing that no occasion is too big for him. He would improve any side in Europe, that is how talented he is.

“From a coaches perspective he is everything you look for in an attacking midfield player.

“He can score goals, he can create goals, he has real quality from set pieces. Any club would want him, he is improving all the time.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in