West Ham United co-owner David Gold has claimed that it will be hard for the London club to hold onto star Dimitri Payet if Barcelona or Real Madrid come looking for him.

The 29-year-old, who signed a £120,000-a-week five-year contract in February, is valued at £45million by the Hammers and could be offloaded if a big-money offer is made this summer.

"We'll fight tooth and nail to make sure Dimitri pulls on a claret and blue shirt next season," Gold told The Sun.

"We want to improve our squad and Dimitri is an integral part of what we're trying to do.

"But we also must be realistic. If Barcelona or Real Madrid made a bid and he wanted to move there, it would be difficult to keep him."