Dimitri Payet didn't speak to his West Ham teammates for eight weeks before his £25 million move back to Marseille, according to co-chairman David Sullivan.

The Hammers were initially unwilling to sell their talisman but Sullivan admitted it became near-impossible to keep Payet at the London Stadium.

“I think for the last six or eight weeks, he's not been talking to anybody in the squad,” Sullivan told BBC Radio 5Live.

“He's gone to the corner of a room for his meals and isolated himself from everybody. Before that, he was bubbly and happy, shakes everyone's hand before the match.

“Either it was a tactic or something in his head had changed. The team wanted him out. The manager, with the greatest reluctance, wanted him out. And as much as we didn't want him out, you can't go against the consensus of the team and manager.”

Payet also paid West Ham back his January wages.

Wayne Rooney will not be allowed to leave Manchester United before the end of the current season.

Rooney has been the subject of interest from clubs in China's Super League.

After Morgan Schneiderlin was sold to Everton and Memphis Depay to Lyon, Mourinho does not want his squad to be further depleted, especially as United are still competing in four competitions.

Asked if the captain will still be at the club at the campaign’s close, Mourinho said: “Yeah. We don’t have players in, we don’t have players out, we lost two players from the squad. You can say Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin did not play a lot, but the reality is they played some matches, and when they did, others didn’t, and when they played, others were rested. When Schneiderlin played, it meant [Paul] Pogba, [Michael] Carrick or [Ander] Herrera didn’t.

“You lose players and sometimes it does not look important because they were not first-choice players, but in the end they’re important if someone is going to have a difficult season. I hope that’s us and we’re in the cup competitions.

“We have the Manchester City match postponed [because of the EFL Cup final], we have the Blackburn Rovers match [in the FA Cup] and if we win we will have another match to be postponed. We are in the Europa League with more matches, so our situation is really difficult.”

Jese Rodriguez will take a huge pay cut in order join Las Palmas on loan from Paris Saint-Germain for the remainder of the season.

Las Palmas president Miguel Angel Ramirez announced on Monday that his club are on the verge of signing the Spanish forward, who is under contract with PSG until June 2021, on a six-month deal.

"Our intention is to unveil Jese on Tuesday afternoon at the Gran Canaria stadium," Ramirez told his club's official radio UD. "Jese's deal is almost completed. There is a total agreement."

Jese, 23, has made just nine Ligue 1 appearances for PSG, with only one of those a start.

Southampton have agreed a deal with Napoli to sign Manolo Gabbiadini for £14.6 million ($18.2 million) with a further £2.6 million in performance-related bonuses.

The 25-year-old Gabbiadini has found his opportunities limited at Napoli this season.

Gabbiadini joined Napoli from Sampdoria in 2015 and has scored 15 goals in 55 league appearances for them.

Southampton have been in need of a striker since Charlie Austin was ruled out in mid-December for three to four months with a shoulder injury.

Jose Mourinho alleges he rejected "a big offer" to manage in China.

Mourinho said: "If you are negotiating a new contract with one of your players and you offer him £5 million per year and they offer £25 million then you have a big problem. Maybe the player takes £5m because he prefers football. Or £25m because he prefers money.

"I have already refused a big offer to go to China, but I don't criticise anyone who decides to do it. It's their choice, their life. Only they can decide what they need for their future.

"Other managers in the Premier League have been critical, but I am no critic. I am worried, because they can offer contracts that are impossible to offer in Europe. But, in the end, the player who wants to go is a player that maybe you don't want to keep."

Sebastian Giovinco has confirmed that Barcelona were once interested in signing him, but he wasn't interested in joining a team where he would rarely play.

Giovinco told Sky Sports Italia that he did not want to serve as a reserve at Barcelona while also ruling out a return to his native Italy. Giovinco does have interest, however, in China.

"It's true, in the past there was interest from Barcelona, but I'd have been a ball boy there. With those three stars in attack, I wouldn't play at all," Giovinco said.

"I wasn't interested because I wanted to play. Neymar, Leo Messi and Luis Suarez would've played even with one leg and still made the difference, so there was no point in me being there."

Mauricio Pochettino insists Tottenham Hotspur will only dip into the January transfer market if a “special player” becomes available.

He told reporters:  “I told you from the first day of the month that we are not thinking to sign players.

“If some special player becomes available who is a very good option, then maybe, but it hasn’t happened yet.

“Nothing is impossible because a player can arrive at the last moment but I don’t believe we will sign anyone.”

Pepe appears ready to turn a one-year extension offer from Real Madrid to join Manuel Pellegrini with Hebei China Fortune.

Pepe is being offered €15 million per season.

Pepe is currently injured and has appeared only sporadically for Real Madrid this season.

Luis Enrique avoided questions about his future with Barcelona on Wednesday. Speculation has been growing that he could leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Sport reported that Juan Carlos Unzue is Enrique's preferred choice should he leave. Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli has also been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona.

"I don't have anything to say," Enrique replied when pressed on his future and whether Unzue, who has barely any senior managerial experience, could handle the role.

Enrique insisted his relationship with the squad is as good as ever.

"This is my third year here and I see the same desire, same eagerness and will to want to keep making history and winning titles. I see the same hunger and I would even say it is greater with every passing season."

Philippe Coutinho is close to a five-year contract extension with Liverpool.

Coutinho has been linked to a summer move with Barcelona.

Negotiations are understood to be at an advanced stage with an agreement close. Coutinho is expected to commit himself to Liverpool until 2022 and his new contract will not include a release clause.

Coutinho has been a major transfer success since his arrival for £8.5 million from Internazionale four years ago, scoring 34 goals in 163 appearances.