Payet set to disappoint West Ham fans by keeping ‘rabona’ locked away

Dimitri Payet has wowed West Ham United fans since descending on these shores last summer but, even by his standards, his assist for the Hammers’ second goal against Watford at the weekend raised the bar.

However, the 29-year-old France winger has revealed the ‘rabona’ may not get another outing this season.

Payet was credited with 12 Premier League assists last season, but none were quite as spectacular as what we witnessed at the weekend.

Already a goal to the good, Payet left the Watford defenders dumbstruck as he sent a rabona cross to the far post for Michail Antonio to head in.

The former Marseille man, one of the stars of Euro 2016, admitted the skill was not pre-meditated.

(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

And he risked disappointing his legion of admirers by suggesting it could prove to be a one-off.

Payet said: “It was something that came instinctively to me at that time in the game.

“I thought that it was the best thing to do at that moment and I did it and it worked.

“When it works, the skill becomes even more impressive.
“If it worked every time, then of course (I’d do it again).

“Unfortunately, it is not a piece of skill that you can use every time, so we will have to see.”