Man Utd rocked as top Ten Hag target suggests move could be huge ‘error’ for his career
Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo tackles PSG star Kylian Mbappe
Manchester United appear to have been handed a setback in their hunt to sign Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice, as the defender has spoken about a previous mistake he made in his career and how he does not want to repeat it.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag is known to be searching for a top centre-back who can compete with the likes of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez for a starting spot. The Dutchman does also have Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in his squad, but Maguire and Evans are not viewed as long-term solutions.
Ten Hag does not fully trust Maguire, which is why he pushed for the England international to join West Ham in the summer and also stripped the captaincy off him. Evans, meanwhile, is now 35 years old and has only joined Man Utd on a one-year deal.
An injury to Martinez, which is expected to keep him out of action until January, has heightened the club’s search for a new centre-half.
On Saturday, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed Man Utd have created a three-man list of potential defensive signings. The Red Devils are interested in Nice’s Todibo, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen and Benfica youngster Antonio Silva.
But Man Utd may struggle to snare Todibo following his latest comments. The 23-year-old was previously on Barcelona’s books, though he struggled to make an impact for the La Liga giants and only made five first-team appearances, while also having three different loan spells away from the Nou Camp.
During an interview with Telefoot (via Football Espana), Todibo has discussed his Barca spell.
“As I didn’t play much at Barcelona, people said I had failed,” he revealed. “I learned from my failure, so I prefer my story to be as it has been and not everything rosy.
Man Utd target feels ‘loved’ in France
“In Nice, I feel confident and quite loved. I just wanted to be able to express myself and be able to play my football.”
Todibo added that he does not want to ‘commit an error’ by joining another big club next, and once again having to sit on the bench.
This comment could put Man Utd’s transfer hopes in serious jeopardy. It seems the only way they will be able to capture Todibo is if they promise him an immediate spot in their starting eleven, which is unlikely to happen when both Varane and Martinez are fit.
As such, Ten Hag may have to go in a different direction by landing either Tapsoba or Silva. And there has now been an insight into which player the manager is leaning towards.
As per Portuguese newspaper Record, Ten Hag and Man Utd will make a big play to try and sign Silva in 2024. They want him to become their own Josko Gvardiol.
