‘A mistake’ – Ten Hag target reveals two reasons he rejected ‘top club’ Man Utd
Nice centre-back, Jean-Clair Todibo, revealed his reasoning for snubbing a summer switch to Manchester United despite labelling them a “top club”.
The Red Devils eyed an upgrade on Harry Maguire throughout the summer, with Kim Min-jae the first player they turned to.
However, Bayern Munich swooped at a time when Man Utd were still struggling to wrap up their move for Andre Onana. The goalkeeping addition was more pressing given David de Gea had departed as a free agent.
Once Kim was off the table, United explored moves for viable alternatives including Benjamin Pavard , Axel Disasi and Jean-Clair Todibo.
The latter, according to the Sun, was the subject of a late-window enquiry from Man Utd.
Todibo, 23, plies his trade for Ligue 1 side Nice and a transfer fee in the region of £34m-£47m was reportedly required to prise him out of France.
However, the move was contingent on United first ridding their books of Harry Maguire. West Ham made their move when seeing a £30m bid accepted, though Maguire did not agree personal terms with the Hammers.
That ensured a Todibo swoop was put on ice, though according to the player, he wouldn’t have greenlit the move anyway.
In an interview with French outlet L’Equipe, Todibo opened up about the strong links to Man Utd. In doing so, he suggested joining the Red Devils could have been a mistake.
Explaining why, Todibo pointed to two primary reasons – concerns over his playing time and the unconvincing project put forward by United.
“I didn’t want to make a mistake in my choice” – Todibo
“I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t have the thought to tell myself that perhaps I should play in a ‘top club’ to increase my chances [of playing for France],” said Todibo. “But there are also guarantees when playing at Nice.”
“I experienced it differently from my previous situations in my career,” continued the Frenchman. “My thinking was much more in-depth, thoughtful. I didn’t want to make a mistake in my choice. I remained very calm.
“Reflection is much more important than when I started. I’m waiting to be presented with the complete project.
“What is expected of me? Why am I coming? You shouldn’t arrive at a club like that. I know what I have at Nice. Why go into the unknown? So, everything must be clear. My first transfer [to Barcelona], I was 18 years old. The thinking was not as thorough.”
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