What the West Ham United faithful would have deemed as mere dreams and illusions in the summer of 2015, manifested itself in the form of Dimitri Payet as the Hammers secured qualification into the Europa League in what turned out to be an epic Premier League season for the East Londoners.
Payet has refused to rule out a move away from the London Stadium in the January transfer window, thus, leaving the imagination to ponder a potential transfer to PSG seeing as West Ham's very own Zinedine Zidane is a proud Frenchman and Unai Emery's side is in dire need of a player of his ilk.
The Payet Factor
A player capable of plunging spectators into a state of delirium with just one touch of the ball – Payet was the crème de la crème in Slaven Bilic's group of outstanding players last term. Not since Paolo Di Canio has there been a player of Payet's influence at West Ham.
His ability to galvanise an entire team is matched by few other players in the league, and when absent from West Ham's lineup, there tends to be a lack of attacking impetus, drive and authority in the side.
Payet arrived at West Ham for £10.7million off the back of a stellar season in Ligue 1 for Marseille which saw him top the assist charts with 18 – he also created more chances than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in the 2014/15 season (135). He currently has four assists to his name this season in just eight starts.
Last term, West Ham's opening day fixture was to be a London derby tie against Arsenal, not much of a match, though, as a win for Arsenal was already concluded on paper before kick-off.
Payet made his league debut, and you could instantly see his exquisiteness – the Arsenal game served as a foreshadowing of how West Ham's season would pan out. Wins against Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City highlighted West Ham's new-found status in the league.
West Ham's Dilemma
Going into the new season along with a move to a bigger stadium seemed to be the perfect start of a brand new era for the Hammers and after last season's triumph it was easy to envisage them going on to challenge the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as heir to the London throne.
But things haven't quite gone their way this season, as they currently sit 17th on the standings, just one point above the relegation zone, and as if that's not bad enough, the one player that's actually capable of ensuring Premier League safety has an uncertain future at the club.
West Ham's first 11 games last season saw them pick up 20 points, score 22 goals and concede 15, whereas mediocrity appears to have taken over at the London Stadium as the Hammers have pocketed just 11 points in 11 games in 2016/17, while averaging just one goal per game.
Despite having put pen-to-paper on a new £125k-a-week deal in a bid to ward off potential suitors, it's easy to see why Payet would want to leave the club; the team seems to be in disarray – not the best environment for a player of Payet's calibre.
Payet is a player who evidently has large levels of confidence in his footballing ability; he's never afraid to take players on and a poor start to the season is unlikely to impede his self-belief. Can't say the same for the lads around him, though.
Payet himself is a decisive factor for West Ham; he proved it last season as well as this term. West Ham underwent a five-game winless run between November and December last season as a result of Payet's absence through an ankle injury, but his return to first-team action inspired West Ham to a 2-1 win against Liverpool, the last meeting between both sides at Upton Park.
A similar occurrence was seen this season when Payet regained full fitness ahead of the clash against Watford, he set up two goals for Michail Antonio and looked sublime on his return to the first-team set-up; the Hammers lost the game 4-2 but Payet played his part and he did so extremely well.
Payet went on to score a 'worldie' against Middlesbrough in October as he salvaged a point for West Ham – he strode past six players before putting the ball beyond Victor Valdes, and the goal spoke volumes about how the 29-year-old can often be the difference between a win and a loss for the Hammers.
Potential Relegation Battle
West Ham could get caught up in a relegation battle if they lose the one player capable of keeping them out of the bottom three.
Payet is like a glimmer of hope the fans can hold on to, in the sense that no matter how bad their campaign gets; as long as they've got Payet, West Ham will stay up.
There just has to be three teams worse off than West Ham to ensure survival, at the moment there are, but not much of a gap exists between them though hence things could take a turn for the worst at any moment.
But West Ham has something the other teams don't, and not a Jermain Defoe who needs service to deliver; Payet is capable of creating his own chances and converting them – he's truly a world-class player and an indispensable one at that.
It's normal to look at a good player in a modest group and claim he wouldn't be able to perform in the midst of better players – Payet outright debunked that ideology with his performances at Euro2016 where he helped France reach the final of the competition.
Lack Of Like-For-Like Options
Payet leaving West Ham will introduce a new reality to the club, one where uncertainty is prevalent over most things. A move would certainly command a large transfer fee probably in the range of £40-60m but who could West Ham sign to replace such a brilliant performer.
All the players of his ilk turn out for top European sides, and they certainly won't be too keen on making their way to a side struggling to stay out of the drop zone.
There has been much talk about a move for Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas, but even if he makes the switch to his third London outfit, he won't make much of an impact.
Why? Well, Fabregas' style of play is built around creating opportunities for players; but he lacks the ability to change games.
He's got 183 assists in his club career, but going into a side with Simone Zaza, Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew - who aren't exactly famed for their consistency - he could end up having a remarkable record of creating chances whilst having few assists to his name due to the lack of quality up front.
Bilic doesn't exactly have the best record when it comes to transfers having signed a dozen players last summer, most of who don't seem cut out for Premier League football.
Looking Ahead
Every side has a captain and a technical leader who more or less assumes the mantle of a catalyst. Removing a team's catalyst means taking away a huge part of how they play; their identity.
Eden Hazard's poor showings for Chelsea last season had a detrimental effect on the team's performances, but when he rediscovered his form in April, the Blues had that extra spark back.
West Ham losing Payet would have an even worse effect on the club, they'd lose the pizazz and excitement Payet promises every time he sets foot on the pitch – they simply can't afford to lose him, and if he leaves in January, it's back to square one for the Irons.
By Phillip Ekuwem
