Manchester United must beat Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo in January.
The Red Devils were much fancied to sign a marquee centre-back last summer. They were favourites to recruit Kim Min-jae from Napoli at one point of time but a deal never materialised.
United were busy prioritising deals for other positions and as a result, the South Korean star ended up signing for Bayern Munich despite the concrete interest from the Red Devils.
Towards the end of the transfer window, the club were linked with a move for Todibo, but an offer was never made. The club had no funds after Harry Maguire decided to stay put.
It has now emerged that Tottenham are lining up a surprise January move for Todibo and they have already opened talks with the French outfit to sign the former Barcelona man.
In our opinion, the Red Devils must avoid their summer mistake of missing out on Min-jae by beating Spurs to the signature of Todibo during the upcoming winter transfer window.
Todibo has developed into one of France’s best central defenders. He has been mesmerising to watch this season with an impressive 80 passes per game with an accuracy of 91 per cent.
The 24-year-old has won 1.9 tackles and 3.2 clearances per outing for Nice. He has averaged an excellent 7.9 ball recoveries per appearance, winning nearly 60 per cent of his duels.
The Frenchman has all the attributes to succeed in the Premier League and United can ill-afford to lose another key target to a rival. They must push for his signature ahead of Spurs.
At the moment, United don’t have funds to spend, but there is a possibility that they could recoup funds with the likes of Anthony Martial, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho leaving in January.
Todibo is currently valued at around €40 million. If they can’t find the budget, United could still take advantage of their upcoming association with Sir Jim Ratcliffe to finalise a loan deal.
Ratcliffe is expected to secure a 25 per cent minority stake at United soon. The deal may not go through by January, but the British billionaire could have a huge influence in deciding Todibo’s future.
He is currently the owner of the Ligue 1 outfit. With the Glazers expected to hand him the sporting operations at United, we won’t be surprised if the club land Todibo on loan with a buy clause.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
