As we're sure you're all well aware, Dimitri Payet's West Ham career appears to be dead in the water.

Slaven Bilic revealed earlier this week that the Frenchman wants to leave the club, and has given some further context in his column for London Evening Standard.

"This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now. Two days ago, he and I had a meeting. I won’t disclose what was said, but I was left in no doubt as to his intentions.

"Yesterday, just before the normal pre-match press conference, I asked Dimitri one more time: 'Are you standing by what you said a couple of days ago or have you thought more about it?' He replied that he was standing by his decision, so that was that."

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It's a grim situation for West Ham supporters, who have fallen in love with the attacking midfielder since his somewhat modest move from Marseille to east London at the start of 2015/16 - a campaign which saw him earn a nomination for the PFA Player of the Year award before continuing to excel for France at EURO 2016.

"There is no point in saying we won’t miss Dimitri Payet because the fans know — we know — that he is a great player."

Bilic certainly has a fair point - there's no doubt Payet is West Ham's talismanic entity and he is head and shoulders above the rest of the squad in terms of natural talent. To say he's integral to the team would be an understatement, but the statistics show just how important he is for the Hammers - and just how much they could struggle without him.

[ffc_insert title="Payet Replacements" name="Four who could fill the void..." image_ link="https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/west-ham/four-premier-league-replace" link_text="Click to read more" ]

As you can see from our infographic, Payet has been responsible for more than 35% of West Ham's chances created in the Premier League this season, whilst providing almost half of their 13 assists. He's also their most active crosser - something that could have real significance in the coming weeks with Andy Carroll returning from injury - and has completed almost a fifth of all their successful dribbles this term.

Also weighing in with a significant chunk of shots, Payet's absence will not only remove creativity but also goal threat from West Ham's starting XI. Bilic, however, believes the show must go on...

"Many times over the years, clubs have lost quality players but gained a team. When a team has a player sent off, somehow that often gives the rest of the players more energy, they dig deeper. I am not so much hoping as expecting this reaction from my team against Crystal Palace tomorrow."

Can West Ham find a star-studded replacement before the end of the transfer window? Here's Football FanCast's four suggestions.

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