Manchester United, Arsenal, Marseille or China's big spenders - who should sign Dimitri Payet?

Payet's sensational performances for club and country last season mean he is likely to attract decent offers, despite the dramatic slip in his standards since the summer.

But who are the front-runners for his signature (according to the bookies) and why would they want a player who turns 30 in March?

Jose Mourinho is a known admirer of Payet and has spoken at great length this season of his team's need for more creativity in central areas.

But United's success in recent months has been built on the foundations set by a three-man midfield, who are really starting to click.

Which of Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera or Paul Pogba would Payet knock out of the starting line-up? And if he's not going to start, is it really a good idea to bring in an impact player who is approaching the final years of his career?

Payet could also play in the front three, on the left, but would he be a better option than the likes of Marcus Rashford, Antony Martial or Juan Mata?

Arsene Wenger rarely turns down the option of signing a work-shy creative midfielder, but a move for Payet doesn't really make sense given that the Gunners are well stocked for creativity.

However, if Mesut Ozil opts against signing a new contract and forces through a departure from the Emirates then somebody will need to replace the German's famous assists... and there are few better options than West Ham's wantaway midfielder.

Money won't be an issue for Chelsea if they opt to act on their reported interest in Payet.

But... the Blues' new formation means there is only really space for two creative midfielders in the team, rather than the previous three, so Payet would need to jump ahead of Pedro or Willian in the pecking order.

Actually, when we put it like that maybe it's not such an unlikely option.

A French player is available? Let's link him to PSG. That's the crux of this transfer connection, with the Paris club highly unlikely to be willing to spend big on a creative midfielder just weeks after prising Julian Draxler away from Wolfsburg.

Only if Payet turns out to be available at a cut-price deal - which is not likely given the Hammers' unwillingness to sell - will this become more than just paper talk.

Reports in the French media over the last week suggest that Payet is angling for a move back to his previous club Marseille for "personal reasons".

The bookies certainly think that this is the likeliest option, with L'OM the favourites for Payet's signature, and if that turns out to be the case then it's hard to criticise the Frenchman for lack of club loyalty.

However, the money that the other clubs in this list will be able to offer could well turn the head of the player and price Marseille out of a switch to the Ligue 1 club.

Payet is 30 in March and this is almost certain to be his only chance of a big-money move... so China's mega-spenders surely have to come into the mix.

The France international's career trajectory has seen him emerge as a major force in the game very late, so he could well be tempted to follow the example of Graziano Pelle and make up for low earnings earlier in his career by moving to the league offering the biggest wages in the world.