Ayew glad to have Payet for company

Standing in the way of West Ham’s record signing Andre Ayew and a regular starting berth is the formidable figure of Dimitri Payet.

But the £20.5million man insists he is happy to have his old friend for competition.

The two were team-mates at Marseille for two seasons before crossing the Channel last summer.

Both made an instant impact in the Premier League, Ayew scoring 12 goals in 34 games, while Payet netted nine times and assisted a further 12 goals for the Hammers.

It is possible boss Slaven Bilic will struggle to find room for both in the same team, but Ayew is unconcerned.

(JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images)

“He’s a friend of mine as we played two or three years together at Marseille,” said Ayew.

“I know him and he knows me and I’m happy to be back playing with a great player like him, because I know what he is capable of doing.

“I know what he did last season and he can do even more, so now I’m back with him we’re going to work together with the whole team and do everything possible to make things right.

“You have Dimitri, Sofiane Feghouli, Michail Antonio, Andy Carroll – the club is getting to another level and these are the players you need to get here. Hopefully we can keep the unity to make things work.

“We can do all the signings and say what we want, but what’s important is to prove it on the field and do everything we can do get the results on the pitch.”