Former England midfielder Paul Merson has claimed that West Ham United attacker Dimitri Payet is as good a player as Arsenal's Mesut Ozil.

Ozil has been widely lauded for his performances in the Premier League this season, with the German providing 16 assists in 20 appearances for his English club, who currently top the table ahead of this weekend's fixtures.

Payet, meanwhile, has scored six times and registered four assists in 13 league matches this season after joining West Ham from Marseille in the summer.

Merson says that Payet, who recently returned from an ankle problem, has been on Ozil's level this season and doubts whether West Ham will be able to keep him out of the clutches of interested clubs at the end of the current campaign.

"Dimitri Payet is some player. You can see why West Ham have missed him, he's up there with Mesut Ozil for me. I'd be shocked if he's still at West Ham next season because everyone will be in for him. He's got it all. He must be the best buy of the summer window," Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star.

"They paid a lot of money for him but it's paying off. If he hadn't been injured they might be even higher than they are now, and no-one really expected it.

"I watched him this week and he played one absolutely unbelievable pass. You watch it without your mouth open. He is different class and it's great to see players like that in the Premier League."

West Ham paid just shy of £11m to sign Payet in the summer.