West Ham’s joint-chairman David Sullivan has told talkSPORT the club knew what they were getting when they signed troublemaker midfielder Dimitri Payet.

Payet was undoubtedly one of the most talented players to pull on a Hammers shirt in recent years following his £10.5million arrival from Marseille in 2015.

The playmaker quickly become a fan-favourite with nine goals and 12 assists in his debut season and went on to star for France at the Euro 2016 finals.

But his relationship with West Ham soon turned sour, and the player forced a move back to France 18 months later after falling out with manager Slaven Bilic and a number of his team-mates.

Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White, Sullivan opened up about Payet’s unceremonious exit and admitted the club was aware he came with baggage, although still hailed him as a ‘fantastic servant’ during his short stay.

“We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that’s why we got him for £10.5million,” said the Hammers chief.

“It was a fantastic buy, but we knew we bought a flawed individual and someone who could well go on strike – he had done it all before.

“That’s why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him.

“But, I’ve got to say he was a fantastic servant for the club. He gave us 18 wonderful months, particularly the first 12 months.

“We didn’t want to sell him but we got around two and half times what we paid for him and you’ve got to say it’s good business.

“It’s not what we wanted but, as a club like West Ham, sometimes we have to sell.

“We wouldn’t have sold him unless we had to. We had meeting after meeting with him – he wanted out and the manager wanted him out. He didn’t want to have an unhappy camp.

“Personally, I would have made him stick it out for six months and given him a hard time, but if the manger says he’s unsettling the whole camp, you’ve got to support the manager.”

Listen to talkSPORT’s interview with David Sullivan IN FULL above!

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