Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that West Ham United are on the brink of completing the permanent signing of Jean-Clair Todibo, a player who came agonisingly close to joining Manchester United earlier this year.
The summer transfer window was one of seismic change for the Hammers, with no fewer than nine first-team players brought into the squad.
West Ham’s recruitment drive was nothing short of extraordinary. They secured permanent deals for Wes Foderingham, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, Luis Guilherme, Crysencio Summerville, and Niclas Fullkrug.
Joining these seven new arrivals in London were two high-profile loan signings: Jean-Clair Todibo and Carlos Soler.
However, it is the Todibo transfer that has particularly caught the eye, given the dramatic turn of events surrounding his failed move to Old Trafford.
The French centre-back, now 24, had been identified by Manchester United as the ideal addition to their defensive ranks.
The fact that Todibo plays for Nice, a club owned by INEOS, the same entity that holds a stake in Manchester United, seemingly smoothed the way for negotiations.
The deal appeared all but done, with Todibo poised to move to Old Trafford. However, UEFA rules intervened, preventing the transfer at the eleventh hour.
Fabrizio Romano reported that the deal was effectively sealed, only for UEFA to step in. “Jean-Clair Todibo was 99 percent a new Manchester United player,” declared Romano in mid-July.
“Everything was done, also on the player’s side, then everything collapsed because of UEFA rules. UEFA denied the possibility for any player to join a club with the same ownership playing in the same European competition; so before the [FA Cup] final at Wembley, Manchester United prepared everything to have Jean-Clair Todibo as a new player. Now, there is nothing ongoing. We had some reports that Manchester United would go legal for this one, but they are not true.”
The issue lay in UEFA’s rules regarding clubs with shared ownership competing in the same tournament.
Both Manchester United and Nice are participating in the Europa League this season, and the regulations clearly stipulate that such transfers cannot proceed between clubs with the same owners if they are involved in the same competition.
While clubs can usually move players between themselves under shared ownership, European competitions impose stricter guidelines, and this quashed Manchester United’s hopes of landing Todibo.
Following the collapse of the United deal, Juventus briefly showed interest in Todibo. They had turned their attention to young French defender Leny Yoro and former Juventus man Matthijs De Ligt but had considered Todibo as a potential alternative.
However, in a surprise turn, West Ham’s sporting director, Tim Steidten, swooped in to hijack the deal. In the end, West Ham secured Todibo’s services on a season-long loan, with a conditional obligation to buy at the end of the campaign.
Such conditional obligations are becoming increasingly prevalent in football’s transfer dealings. A similar clause is attached to Jadon Sancho’s loan move from Manchester United to Chelsea.
In Sancho’s case, the obligation to buy will be activated if Chelsea finish 14th or higher in the Premier League, a scenario that, given Chelsea’s stature, seems almost guaranteed. Likewise, West Ham’s obligation to buy Todibo appears to be based on criteria that are similarly straightforward to meet.
In a recent update, Fabrizio Romano confirmed that West Ham’s obligation to purchase Todibo is nearing fulfilment. Taking to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), the reliable journalist stated:
“The obligation to buy clause (€40m) into Jean-Clair Todibo deal at West Ham from OGC Nice is very easy to reach, almost guaranteed. It will be triggered soon as the French centre back can already be considered 100 percent West Ham player, as always mentioned.”
The fee in question is reported to be €40 million, which equates to roughly £34 million. While the exact terms required to trigger the obligation have not been publicly disclosed, the fact that Romano is already describing Todibo as effectively a permanent West Ham player suggests it is merely a matter of time.
Once triggered, Todibo will sign a five-year contract with the Hammers, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2030.
Todibo’s arrival bolsters West Ham’s defence, which has undergone significant change this season.
Despite signing both Todibo and Max Kilman, and holding onto Konstantinos Mavropanos, West Ham allowed four centre-halves to leave: Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma, and Nayef Aguerd.
As a result, new manager Julen Lopetegui has found himself with limited defensive options in the early stages of the season.
In fact, the shortage of centre-backs was so acute during their recent 3-1 defeat to Manchester City that 19-year-old academy graduate Kaelan Casey was named on the bench. It is clear that while West Ham have recruited well in some areas, they may still need further reinforcements in defence.
To that end, reports have emerged that the Hammers are considering a move for former Liverpool stalwart Joel Matip. The 33-year-old centre-back has been a free agent since leaving Anfield on June 30 following an eight-year spell with the Reds.
Matip, who has fully recovered from the ACL injury that sidelined him last season, would bring a wealth of Premier League experience to West Ham’s defence.
Given that Matip is unattached, he can be signed outside the regular transfer window, offering West Ham a potential solution to their defensive frailties without the constraints of waiting for the January window to open.
Whether Matip will indeed make the switch to the London Stadium remains to be seen, but West Ham’s interest is a clear sign they are not done with their defensive rebuild just yet.