Manchester United are still looking at a potential summer move for Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo, according to Fabrizio Romano.
What’s the latest Man United transfer news?
The Red Devils and Erik ten Hag have been busy ahead of the 2023/24 season where Champions League football will once again be on the Old Trafford billing.
Reinforcements have therefore been required, and the club have already signed Mason Mount from Chelsea and Andre Onana from Inter Milan. Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund will be the next to arrive at Carrington after Man United and Atalanta agreed on a €70m fee, with the player also undergoing a medical and completing media duties.
Hojlund will be the club’s biggest signing of the summer and will take United’s spending to around the £150m mark, however, it doesn’t look as if the Red Devils plan on stopping there.
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Attention could turn to moving players on, with 13 thought to be up for sale at the beginning of the window, but another new midfielder appears to be of interest.
Reports have suggested that Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is a real target and is close to moving to Manchester in a deal worth £26m. A new centre-back could also arrive before the September 1 deadline, with Todibo still an option.
Writing in his Caught Offside column in the last 48 hours, transfer expert Romano said that the Red Devils are still monitoring Todibo ahead of a possible transfer but added that the focus will soon be on a new midfielder.
“I mentioned in April that Man United sent their scouts multiple times to follow both Todibo and Disasi – they’re very attentive to French market.
“Todibo is still being monitored, and we’ll have to wait and see how Man United will act. The priority will be a midfielder for now, so there’s nothing imminent on Todibo.”
Who is Jean-Clair Todibo?
Todibo is an out-and-out centre-back who appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high €30m Transfermarkt valuation. The 23-year-old progressed through the academy at Toulouse before making the move to Barcelona back in 2019.
However, things didn’t exactly work out at the Nou Camp for the player, who made just five appearances for the Catalan giants, turning out on loan with FC Schalke, Benfica and Nice.
The Frenchman made a move to Nice permanent back in 2021 and has gone on to player over 100 times for the French side – 70 of which have come in the past two Ligue 1 campaigns.
Praised for being as “solid as a rock” for Nice by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Todibo was also once hailed by German legend Lothar Matthaus, who said:
“Todibo is the best centre back I’ve seen in a long time.
“At 20 he is incredibly calm, he always finds interesting solutions.”
Therefore, a move to Manchester could be a wise one by Ten Hag and the Old Trafford board. Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly could well leave this month, which would leave the club with just Victor Lindelof as a senior back-up to first-choice pair Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Todibo could potentially look to rival Varane and Martinez and eventually become a starter over the coming years, and by the looks of things, a move could materialise later in the window.