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West Ham are considering a deal to loan outcast ­playmaker Dimitri Payet to Nice.

The French league leaders will step in and make an offer to the Hammers, who are refusing to lower their asking price in talks with Nice's Ligue 1 neighbours Marseille.

A deal with Nice would suit them and West Ham, who are keen to offload his £125,000-a-week wages.

Payet has cited family reasons as his motivation to leave the Londoners and return to his homeland.

And this temporary fix would see him get his requested return to the south of France, suiting all parties apart from Marseille – which would not upset anyone at the Hammers.

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And, should Nice cement their place in next season’s Champions League it could be win-win for the West Ham — they would demand not only a loan fee, plus the player’s wages being met, but also a whopping bonus payable on qualification for the continent’s premier football competition.

It could also be a viable alternative for the player, should Nice like what they see and rival Marseille for Payet’s signature in the summer.

Nice have emerged as a major force this season after being taken over by Chinese and ­American investors last summer.

They have bankrolled a ­significant splurge in the transfer market, luring the likes of Mario Balotelli to the Mediterranean coast. They were also interested in Crystal Palace midfielder Yohan Cabaye – but will not pay the transfer fee on top of the player’s wages.

(Image: AFP/Getty)

Now, they are waiting in the wings to see how Payet’s situation develops with Marseille, and appear willing to to step in to end his stay under Slaven Bilic.

Payet is lucky he hasn’t been pinned up against the wall by angry West Ham players, according to Hammers legend Martin Allen.

The wantaway Frenchman’s car was vandalised outside his home on Thursday and senior players have cut him from their WhatsApp group.

Allen, who played 190 games for the club, is disgusted by Payet’s behaviour and reckons he should have been sold as quickly as possible.

Allen said: “Payet doesn’t give a toss about the club or his team-mates. His awful displays have been jeopardising their careers. It’s their living and he’s disrupting their livelihood to get a move, which could relegate the club.

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“I’d imagine his team-mates would love to pin him up against a wall and have it out with him. It’s particularly disappointing because he received a £1m loyalty bonus last September.

“The players would have known what he was planning a long time ago. They would have noticed his body language in matches and training, how he was not tracking back, not listening to the manager, the tell-tale signs.”

Allen, 51, has his own fantasy about how he would like Payet to leave West Ham… with a monstering from hardman and current coach, Julian Dicks.

He said: “What I’d love is for the club to sort out a six-a-side with Payet on a Friday morning, and invite Dicks to play for the ­opposition. Even though Julian would be limping because of his bad knee, I’m sure he could find that extra half-yard to make a tackle on him.

(Image: West Ham United via Getty)

“It would be a 50-50, and Payet would probably nutmeg him. But Julian would turn round and then scythe him in half.

“That would be a nice way to end the saga, I’m sure all West Ham fans would agree.”

Allen, now boss of non-League Eastleigh, believes West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold made a big mistake last summer by not ­flogging Payet.

“He had a great Euros for France – one of best the players there,” said Allen. “And West Ham pandered to him after that.

“But they had 11 truly committed players in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. They wouldn’t have won so convincingly with only 10 men, if Payet had played.”