West Ham United appear to have dropped a clanger after media reports in France suggested that Dimitri Payet is free to leave for £15m if the club are relegated from the Premier League.
So Foot claimed that the mercurial playmaker will be allowed to speak to interested parties for the relative pittance of a transfer fee if Slaven Bilic's side fall out of the Premier League at any point during Payet's current contract length.
The 29-year-old only joined the Hammers in a £10m deal last summer, but as one of the clauses inserted into his contract at the London stadium, Payet's representatives apparently insisted on a relegation release clause being part of the terms on offer - a part of the deal that West Ham were only too happy to oblige to.
Manchester United have been spuriously linked with a move for Payet over the past few months, and Red Devils legend Peter Schmeichel is adamant that his old side should look to sign the forward if possible.
In quotes published by the Daily Mail, he said: "He's a Manchester United-type player, for sure. I think Mourinho has to change his way a little bit to please the fans, the club and the traditions of the club. I think he is showing signs of that, the players that he is signing, they are of a different calibre.
"Zlatan Ibrahimovic is someone he probably wouldn't have signed had he been at Chelsea, but he's United's kind of player, the kind the supporters like to see. He's rewarding us with great skills and great goals “ I think he has scored seven goals so far. But Payet? Definitely if he can find the form he showed during the Euros."
Any fears over being relegated last season quickly evaporated as Bilic led his charges to a seventh place finish in England's top flight.
However, West Ham have failed to replicate those heights so far in 2016/17 and sit just one point and one place above the drop zone after 14 matches.
The move away from Upton Park to the Olympic stadium, coupled with a host of injuries to key first team stars, have seen the Irons struggle to find any semblance of consistently good form in both domestic and continental competition.
Bilic's men crashed out of the Europa League during the qualifying rounds for a second successive season, while they were hammered 4-1 by Manchester United in the EFL Cup quarter finals.
Payet himself has failed to hit the heights of 2015/16, with just two goals and seven assists picked up in the 15 games he has played thus far.
The former Marseille man had registered 15 goals and 17 assists during his maiden campaign with West Ham, and the Hammers will be looking to their talisman to help fire them up the league table if they are retain his services past next summer.
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WEST HAM star Dimitri Payet reportedly has a release clause of just £15million if the club is relegated. https://t.co/frGM174cny