Dimitri Payet branded a ‘flawed individual’ by West Ham co-owner David Sullivan

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has labelled a Dimitri Payet a "flawed individual" who has never reached his potential.

Payet enjoyed a sensational debut campaign for the Hammers after joining on a five-year deal from Marseille in June 2015, scoring nine times in the Premier League.

Such was his impact, West Ham gave the France international an improved contract in February of that season that made him the club’s highest-paid player on £125,000 a week.

However, in his second season, Payet was sold back to Marseille for £25m in January after telling West Ham he would never play for them again.

Sullivan believes Payet’s behaviour shows why he has never been signed by any of Europe’s elite clubs despite his considerable talent, and admits West Ham knew they were taking a big risk when they signed him.

"We knew Dimitri was flawed, and that’s why we got him for £10.5m," Sullivan told talkSPORT. "It was a fantastic buy, but we knew we bought a flawed individual and someone who could well go on strike – he had done it all before.

"That’s why he never reached his full potential as a player and why big clubs have steered clear of him. But, I’ve got to say he was a fantastic servant for the club. He gave us 18 wonderful months, particularly the first 12 months.

"We didn’t want to sell him but we got around two and half times what we paid for him and you’ve got to say it is good business. It’s not what we wanted but, as a club like West Ham, sometimes we have to sell.

"We wouldn’t have sold him unless we had to. We had meeting after meeting with him – he wanted out and the manager wanted him out. He didn’t want to have an unhappy camp.

"Personally, I would have made him stick it out for six months and given him a hard time, but if the manger says he’s unsettling the whole camp, you’ve got to support the manager."

(c) Sky News 2017: Dimitri Payet branded a ‘flawed individual’ by West Ham co-owner David Sullivan